I'm a WHAT!
by Maiden of the Silver Fires
Summary: Lucinda "Luce" Sullivan and her friends are all a seemingly normal group of kids who just seem to fit in well with each other, but that normality is shattered when Percy, Grover, Thalia, and Annabeth come to their school. Possible romance later on! R&R  NOTE: This story has almost nothing to do with the original characters. I mostly just borrowed their world
1. Chapter 1: New Friends and New Findings

**I'm a WHAT!?!**

**_Chapter 1_**

_A/N: I don't own Percy, Grover, Annabeth, or Thalia or even Camp Half-Blood. In fact, the only things in this story I do own are the characters below and the plot line. Depressing, isn't it.  
_

* * *

**Character Parallels**

**(this part is mainly for those who are the basis of the characters in my story)**

Mitchell Collebri: Ross  
Damien Kingsley: Matty  
Zoey Reed: Allie  
Jay Jones: Zack  
Sam Rockwell: Scotty  
Lucinda "Luce" Sullivan: Me  
Audrey Henson: Regan  
Clarissa Michaels: Caree Jo

* * *

I sighed and played with my long, blonde hair as I sat in my mom's Latin class. This nine weeks was basically cake for me because we were just studying the Greek/Roman gods and goddesses and myths… I already knew all the information. I'd been addicted to mythology since I was old enough to read. I grinned over at my best friend, Audrey Henson, who was only slightly less bored than I. She smiled back and nodded to my desk. There was a little slip of paper on it and I quickly snatched it up, even though my mom really didn't care if we passed notes or not. It read:

"_So Luce, what do you think of the newbie?"_

I scribbled a quick reply. "_OMG! It's like we were separated at birth! Annabeth is so sweet and she loves reading and mythology! She and I will get along great, I'm sure! Though she'll never take your place!"_

"_Ha, I know. I'm irreplaceable! But so are you! You about comatose yet?"_

"_Definitely! Urgh! When is 8th__ period again?"_

"_Shoot, you know I have no idea. But I think you should invite Annabeth over for the party Friday." _I grinned at Audrey, nodding my head, and stuck my tongue out at her. She turned away from me, grinning, and flipped me off nonchalantly. I smiled and grabbed a new sheet of paper.

On it, I wrote:

"_Hey Annabeth, Audrey, a couple others, and I are having a sleepover Friday at my house. A few guys are coming over too. Wanna come?"_ I tossed it onto Annabeth's desk in front of me and she turned and smiled at me.

In a few minutes, Annabeth had scrawled a reply and tossed it back. "_Sure! Mind if I bring along 3 more people? They're new too and they really need to meet some of the other people around here."_

"_No problem! Who do you want to bring? And if you have a cell I'll need your number so we can arrange everything."_

"_I don't have a cell, sorry… If it's okay with you, I wanna invite Percy, Thalia, and Grover. They're all really nice and they're the only people I really know here. We all used to go to the same school in New York." _I smiled as I read it. I already knew they were nice. All four of them were in Band with me, Percy and Grover were in my Art class next period and Thalia was in my Geography class 4th period.

"_No problem! I have next period with Percy and Grover so I'll invite them then. Chanda ought to be cool with a few more people over. It's close to summer break so she's expecting a lot of kids over."_

"_Chanda?"_

"_Mrs. Sullivan. She's my mom, but her first name is Chanda."_

"_Oh! Why do you call her by her first name?"_

"_A lot of my friends call their parents by their first names too, so I fell into the habit."_

"_Oh, lol that's cool. Hey, the bell's about to ring. Shouldn't we start packing?"_

"_Nah… She'll call our next class for us if we're taking too long. Plus it's just gonna be 8__th__ period… No body really ever counts tardies this period."_

"_Oh okay. Oh dang! I just remembered! Thalia has a cell! Her number is 1-459-3368! There's the bell! Bye Luce! We're all staying with Thalia right now, so just text her and you'll have us all taken care of."_

I smiled again. "Bye Annabeth! Bye Audrey!" I called as I walked ever so slowly down the hall towards the Art room. I grinned when I saw my friend Mitchell already in class, playing with clay as he talked with Percy and Grover. I sat down in front of Mitchell and beside Grover and started putting the finishing touches on my vase. It was turning out better than the last one so far. I ran around the table and hugged Mitchell, getting clay dust all in his spikey hair, making him turn red and Grover and Percy laugh hysterically.

"Knock it off would ya _Lucy_!" Mitchell growled, still red.

"Sure thing _Mitch_." I growled back.

"I thought I told you never to call me that again." he hissed.

"You did, but I told you to never call me Lucy. I consider it payback." I grinned. Then I threw an arm around Percy too and smiled at Grover. "Which reminds me, somehow… You three are all invited over to my house Friday for a party. Annabeth and Thalia are invited too so no worries you two." I said grinning at Percy and Grover.

"Awesome. Who else is coming?" Grover asked, smiling at me from under his Rasta hat.

"Well… Let's see…" I said, ticking off names on my fingers as I spoke, "Clarissa Michaels, Audrey Henson, Mitchell Collebri, Jay Jones, Sam Rockwell, Thalia, Damien Kingsley, Annabeth, you, Percy, and Zoey Reed. So that's twelve of us!" Percy whistled under his breath.

"That's an awful lot of people…" he said tentatively.

"Nah… I've had bigger parties. Anyway, I have Thalia's cell so we'll be able to arrange things easier."

"Oh cool. Annabeth tell you that we're all staying with Thalia?" Grover asked.

"Yeah…. I think that Audrey's gonna drive her car and help me pick up some people. I'll pick you guys up plus Mitchell and Jay, so Clarissa and the others will ride with Audrey." I yawned as I moved back around to my seat, but was grabbed around the waist by Mitchell, which made me squeal. "Engh! Mi-Mitchell! Lemme' GO!"

"NEVERRRRR!!!!!" he shouted.

"GROVER! PERCY!!! HELP!" I screamed, my arms waving frantically as he began to tickle me mercilessly.

"Not it!" Percy and Grover shouted. Grover was just a bit late though.

"Dang!" Grover said, sighing.

"Sorry, but it's your turn, Grover." Percy said smiling. As you can probably tell, this was a regular occurrence with us.

"C'mon Mitchell, you gotta let her go. Hamilton is gonna freak if this keeps up much longer." Grover said, trying to reason with the boy who was bringing tears to my eyes.

"So. What's she gonna do? Hamilton won't do anything." Mitchell said, tickling me harder.

"M-Mitch-ell! I-if you d-don't st-stop it, an-and let me go, I-I'll bite you!" I screamed and took a snap at him.

"Dude! Don't test her! We don't want her to go all cannibal on us!" Grover said, his arms waving frantically in the air.

"Keh! Like she's gonna do anything! Hey! Ow!" Mitchell yelled as I bit into his arm a little hard. He let me go then and I smiled at him and went back around to sit by Grover.

"That was awesome Grover!" I laughed as I held out my fist. Grover touched my fist with his and laughed.

"Hey, are you gonna have some vegetables there at the party? I'm a vegetarian…" Grover smiled.

"Sure dude. Chanda was gonna buy pizza so we'll order a few veggie pizzas too." And then the dismissal bell rang. "Bye guys!" I grinned and ran for my tiny car. Regan and I met up at the local gym and worked out for a solid hour before going to her house, showering, and doing homework. When all that was done, I jumped into my car again and headed home.

Later that night, I sat on my bed and picked up my cell phone. I dialed the number that Annabeth gave me and waited for Thalia to pick up.

"_Hello?"_

"_Thalia?"_

"_Oh, hey Luce! Annabeth said you might call."_

"_Yeah, did she tell you about the party?"_

"_Yep! I already got permission for us, so it's all good."_

"_Haha cool. Well you guys make sure to bring swimsuits. And this is gonna be a co-ed slumber party, so they guys need to bring all their stuff too. All the boys are staying in the guest room and the girls will be with me in my room."_

"_Sounds awesome, but Grover can't swim."_

"_Oh, that's too bad… We don't have to go swimming though."_

"_That would be great. So, who's picking us up?"_

"_Well I'm gonna take you guys, Mitchell, and Jay to my house straight from school in my car and Audrey's bringing the others in hers."_

"_Great! Well I'll see you tomorrow."_

"_Okay. You guys bring your stuff to my car in the morning and we'll pack it in the trunk."_

"_Sounds good. Bye Luce."_

"_Bye Thalia."_ I smiled as I hung up and got ready for bed.

**With Thalia and the gang ~ Thalia POV**

I grinned at my cell phone. "So it's all set you guys." I smiled around at Percy, Grover, and Annabeth.

"Grover, are you sure the others are Half-bloods too?" Annabeth said, looking at him with an eyebrow quirked up.

"I'm positive, Annabeth. Everyone that's coming is a Half-blood. It's really quite odd how all the Half-bloods in the entire school banded together without realizing it." he said and smiled at her. "They just made our job tons easier."

"You can say that again…" Percy said and wrapped an arm around Annabeth's shoulder. She smiled at him.

"So…. Let's get packing you guys!" I said, enthusiastically.

"What's to pack? We just need to take a few things out of our suitcases and we're set." Grover grinned.

"I wonder if Luce's mom knows that she's a Half-blood…." I said, quietly.

"Pfft. I'd be surprised if she didn't. She's the LATIN teacher, Thalia. Of course she'd know. How could she not?" Annabeth said.

"Okay, okay. It was a stupid question. Sue me." I scowled.

**Back to Luce POV**

The next day, I waited beside my car, chatting anxiously with Audrey while the others slowly walked over to us with sleepy steps from the van Grover drove. They were all weighted down with luggage. I smiled at them and grabbed several armfuls of bags as Audrey helped them load everything into my small trunk.

"So, you guys ready for Friday to be over so we can party or what?" Audrey laughed as she watched Percy rub the sleep from his eyes.

"Yeah!" Thalia said happily. She seemed the only one really awake.

The day sped by and it seemed like all that we could talk about was the party. Before I knew it, it was time to gather everyone up and head home. I had to skip the gym today, but I figured I'd get in the exercise any way. Mitchell climbed into the passenger seat as Jay, Thalia, Grover, Annabeth, and Percy squished into the backseat. We were home in 15 minutes and we all burst out of the car with relief just as Audrey drove up behind us and they repeated our little scene.

"Well…. Welcome to La Casa de Sullivan." I said, grinning. All my friends who'd never been over, gushed for a bit but then settled down. "Okay, so let's all get inside and I'll show you guys where you'll be sleeping." I led them all into my house and stood in the half hallway that separated my room from the guest room. "All the girls go into my room on the right and all the boys go into the guest room on the left. In between them is the bathroom." I smiled as everyone went as I directed and then came back out.

For a while we all just hung out, listening to music, watching TV, walking around, or just talking. About 20 minutes later though, Chanda came home with the 12 pizzas. 3 were pepperoni, 3 cheese, 3 were veggie, and the last 3 were dessert pizzas. We all attacked them fiercely and were chowing down on them when Grover spoke up. "So… Do any of you know who both of your parents are?"

"Well…Um… Yeah…" We all nodded.

"No, you don't. I guarantee it…" Grover said not looking at us. Thalia, Percy, and Annabeth looked down and away too.

"W-What do you mean, Grover?" I asked, getting an odd feeling in my chest.

"I mean, all of you only know HALF of your parentage…" he said, looking up at us all with serious brown eyes. He swallowed hard. "You're all the half human children of the Greek gods and goddesses. Also known as Demigods or Half-bloods. Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia are all Half-bloods too… While I'm a Satyr." He looked at us gravely. "We've come to take you to Camp Half-blood."


	2. Chapter 2: And the Trip Begins!

**I'm a WHAT!?!**

**_Chapter 2_**

_A/N:__ Okay, I don't own Percy, Grover, Thalia, or Annabeth. I don't even own the places! In fact, the only things I own are the characters below. Depressing, isn't it.

* * *

_**Character Parallels**

**(This is mainly for the people who were the basis of my characters)**

Mitchell Collebri: Ross  
Damien Kingsley: Matty  
Zoey Reed: Allie  
Jay Jones: Zack  
Sam Rockwell: Scotty  
Lucinda "Luce" Sullivan: Me  
Audrey Henson: Regan  
Clarissa Michaels: Caree Jo

* * *

We all jumped at the sound of shattering glass. "No! No! You're not taking Luce! Not Luce, not _anyone_!" My mom sobbed as she stared at Grover and the others. She'd dropped her glass when she'd walked in and heard us talking.

"Mrs. Sullivan, it's not safe for them here. There are too many monsters and they're too under trained. We _need_ to take them back to Camp Half-Blood for training so that they can grow up and learn the skills they needed to survive." Thalia said, speaking calmly and slowly, her blue eyes determined and sympathetic.

"B-but he said she'd be safe here… He promised me that she'd be okay down here…" my mom sobbed again.

"Who? Who, Mrs. Sullivan?" Grover pressed.

"Lucinda's father…" she whispered, clinging to me.

"Was it Mr. Sullivan?" Clarissa asked my mom softly, patting her back.

"No…No, I met Lucinda's father not long before Mr. Sullivan… We dated for a while, in secret… One day I kissed him and then he left, not another word until I found out I was somehow pregnant.. He told me to move South before the baby came so that she'd be safe and that he'd if he had a choice, he'd stay with me, but he didn't, so he wanted me to move South and move ON… So I did… And then I met my husband, and well… I was early enough along that by the time Luce was born, we were already married and everyone thought she was my husband's.." Mom admitted, her voice shaky.

"We will find out who all of your parents are once we get to camp." Percy said gently.

"….. You'll need a lot of money and plenty of clothes… At least stay here until morning." Mom said, dejectedly.

"Thank you Mama…" I whispered, pulling her close.

"I'm doing it to protect you sweetling. There's no need to thank me." she said, smiling weakly at me.

"We'll need to call our parents too." Mitchell said quietly, looking solemn and excited all at once. I felt the same way. It took a long time to call everyone and that time was filled periodically with tears, shouting, and the occasional breakdown. The whole time, Thalia, Grover, Percy and Annabeth were watching, looking sad.

Finally, everyone was calmed down and was busy preparing to leave at dawn the next morning. We were all quiet when suddenly Thalia rushed up to my mom and hugged her. "I'm so sorry Mrs. Sullivan… We have to do it though." My mom looked at her with big blue eyes that were red rimmed and puffy from crying.

"I know…. It's fine dear, just so long as Luce gets to come and visit sometime."

"Of course. They all will." she smiled at us.

"I'm glad." I said. We all streamed into our respective rooms and settled down to watch movies until we fell asleep, which wasn't long considering all the crying and what not we'd done.

My phone alarm went off at 5:05 like usual and I got up, showered, got dressed, grabbed some mascara and pulled my hair into a ponytail before stepping out into the "hallway" and went to sit down on my bed while everyone else began to stir and wake. I got up and fixed some Frosted Flakes for me for breakfast and waited. I went and began packing. First I dumped all my books and things out of my backpack, leaving my sketchbook, journal, and laptop in it while I stuffed jeans, shirts, pjs, and a bunch of other clothes into the main pocket of my bag with water bottles on top. I took the front part and put in 2 or 3 of my favorite books and piled a few other things into my bag like my iHome, some mangas, and some colored pencils and their sharpener. By the time I was finished, everyone had gotten showered and were taking everything out of their suitcases and transferring it into their back packs. Some of the girls were worried about not having enough clothes so I let them attack my closet. Not like there was anything in there I actually cared about anyway. I snuck away quietly to grab 5 or 6 more things. I grabbed my iPod, my favorite necklace, the biggest bloom from my Orchid to press in one of my books, my favorite pair of sunglasses, my 2 favorite bottles of nail polish (one silver and one gold), and, I'd be dead if anyone saw this, my teddy bear, Benjamin, whom my little brother had given to me. I started to tear up as I stuffed him roughly into my bag and thought of Seth. We fought like cats and dogs, but we loved each other. Speaking of cats and dogs….

I shrugged on my pack and went to go see Grover about some…things. He looked up at me as I walked up to him tiredly, still wiping away tears. "What is it, Luce?" he asked, concern radiating from him.

"Um, Grover? Can I bring along 2 of my animals? Ellie's really good and Spyder won't hurt a soul… unless she gets in one of her moods…" I asked hopefully, my eyes shining. "They won't be trouble! I promise!"

"Uhhhh…. Spyder wouldn't happen to be an actual spider would she?" He asked. I laughed.

"No. She's a cat. Ellie's my puppy, but she might as well be a cat as much as she sleeps… Please Grover! Please!" I grabbed his hands without thinking and gave him a pleading look.

"Ohhhhh…… Okay. I don't think it could really hurt. But they ride with you!" he said. Last night we'd decided it'd be easier if we split into groups of four in each car. All the trained Half-bloods and Grover would be split amongst us. I was driving my group. Mitchell was in my group and wouldn't be too happy to hear that my "puppy" was coming with us but oh well. We'd have to take turns driving so that either me, Thalia, or Jay would be holding the lax dog at any one point in time. Spyder, on the other hand would be in her kitty carrier as she didn't like car rides one bit.

"Oh thank you Grover! You're the best!" I said, tears breaking through once again and hugging him.

"Heh. No problem, Luce. Now go finish getting ready." he said laughing as he hugged me back then pushed me towards my room. I grinned and grabbed Ellie's leash, collar, food and water bowls, Spyder's cat bed, collar, food and water bowls, and kitty carrier. I put Spyder's things in her carrier and stuck it in the "way-back", aka the trunk, of my car. The soft top was off of my purple 2000 Kia Sportage so she'd stay cool enough when I put Spyder in. I ran to catch my kitty and put her collar on her and when I did, I stuck her in her carrier.

Then I went to get Ellie, who was in her pen. I smiled and slipped in just as she came running up. I grabbed her and hugged her tight then slipped her collar on her gently. I picked her up and slung her over my shoulder and laughed as she just laid up there like a sack of potatoes. I clipped her leash on when I brought her inside so I could keep track of her easier. "Hey guys! We've got 2 new members of our little party!" I called, grinning as people froze in place or poked their heads around doorways to see. I held up Ellie in triumph as everyone stared. "Ellie's riding with me while Spyder's in her carrier!" I called out proudly. Of course, the only one to seem just as enthusiastic as I was Thalia. Everyone else went back to packing as Thalia ran over excitedly.

"Oh my goddess! Look at her! She's simply adorable! And so pudgy and laid back! Hehe, reminds me of ole Seaweed brain when he's full." she exclaimed happily, petting and cooing to Ellie. "Of course, Seaweed brain isn't a puppy with thick, soft, black fur and the prettiest amber-brown eyes I've ever seen." She laughed. I smiled. Thalia and I would get along great.

"If you think she's gorgeous, you should see Spyder, my cat, or some of Ellie's siblings." I pulled out my cell and showed her some of the pictures I had of them and she oohed and ahhed at all of them. They were my pride and joys but I could only handle Ellie. The others were too hyper… Especially Ellie's identical twin (technically they all were septuplets, but you know what I mean) named Sammie. Sammie was ALWAYS hyper.

Thalia and I spent the next half hour talking about animals while the others finished and packed into cars. Last night we'd gone back to school and gotten Grover's van so it would save time. Grover would be playing chauffeur to Damien, Clarissa, and Annabeth while Audrey was driving Percy, Zoey, and Sam. My group was the largest, consisting of Me (the driver), Thalia, Mitchell, Jay, Spyder, and Ellie. It was fairly comfortable in my little car with the back off and we all waited on Grover to pull out so we could follow him. I pulled out after him, followed by Audrey. It was strategic to drive this way because Grover's brightly colored vaguely hippie-style van wasn't exactly easy to miss and neither was my unusually colored Kia. This way, if someone passed us, we could still keep up with the others and not get lost. Audrey's silver car was somewhat of a commodity so she went last.

That night, we stopped for burgers at this cute little diner and Thalia helped me walk Ellie and then Spyder, who I'd somehow managed to leash-train when she was just a kitten, when we were done eating and then we got back on the road for a few more hours. Thalia was now driving and I had Ellie passed out in my arms while I, myself fought exhaustion. "It's fine, you can go to sleep, Luce. I won't crash the car and I know Mitchell's taking over at the next stop. I'll get some sleep then. Please don't worry." Thalia said to me, reaching over to tug gently on my blonde ponytail that stuck out under my black baseball cap that had paintball splatters on it. I couldn't help it, I yawned.

"Okay… So long as you're sure…" I mumbled. I didn't catch her reply before I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. Driving 12 hours straight with 15 minute breaks every 4 hours or so will do that to a person, I guess. By the time I woke up, Mitchell was driving and he had his green eyes intently focused on the road ahead. He was singing under his breath to the Disturbed song that was coming through the speakers from my iPod. Midday sun was beating against the car, but we'd put the top up after our first stop so it wasn't that bad. Ellie was in Thalia's lap, asleep, as were Thalia herself and Jay.

"Oh, so Sleeping Brat has finally awakened." Mitchell said, laughing as I rubbed my eyes and looked around the car. He hadn't said it in a mean way.

"Yep! But when will Prince Annoying ever go to sleep?" I said, using his own tone of voice. He just laughed again.

"We stopped for breakfast about 3 hours ago and we saved you some sausage biscuits and grape jelly. They're in the glove compartment so Ellie won't eat them before you." he said, turning slightly to smile at me and tap the glove compartment. I grinned back at him and tore into them. Even cold they were delicious and a bit greasy. It took about 5 napkins to clean myself up properly.

"Thanks Mitchell!" I said happily and reached over to squeeze his free hand once, quickly, then release it. He smirked and shrugged it off.

We were making awesome time since we didn't make any long stops, but we'd have to stay the night somewhere soon because everyone was getting black bags under their eyes and their faces were all haggard. Today was our 3rd day on the road. Mom and I texted all the time since Thalia told me that cell phones tended to act as a beacon to monsters when in the hands of a Demigod. She said that texting was okay though because the electronic signals weren't as strong as with phone calls, and they didn't last as long.

Finally, on our 4th night, we stopped at a Motel 8 and ordered just 1 room for 2 nights. It had two beds in it and each one had a trundle bed underneath. Sadly, the beds could fit only 3 and the trundles could only fit 2. Which meant that 1 boy and 1 girl had to either share the pullout or someone got stuck with the chair. I ended up sharing the pullout bed with Jay, which was just as well, because he and I were like brother and sister and didn't really care. I was just glad that we finally had a real shower instead of a sink in a gas station bathroom. When I emerged from the bathroom feeling rejuvenated I wore a towel on my head and was sporting a way-too-big shirt and some sleep shorts. I was the last to shower and everyone else had crawled in bed to watch TV or go to sleep.

I glanced at everyone and noticed that Mitchell, Clarissa, Audrey, Percy, Grover, Annabeth, and Zoey were all asleep leaving just me, Thalia, Jay, Sam, and Damien awake. I sighed and walked over to my shared bed and plopped down beside Jay. He was stretched out on the bed and patted the space next to him. I smiled and curled up beside him. He slung an arm around me and we watched TV until we fell asleep around midnight after everyone else had dropped off to sleep.

"Hey… Hey Luce… Wake up Luce. You've got to get up so I can get you some breakfast." I groaned and snuggled closer into the warm thing I was currently wrapped around. Then I felt a soft shaking and heard a laugh that was in unison with it. "C'mon. You have to get up Luce." I groaned again and pressed further into the warmth, tightening my arm and leg around it. Suddenly I felt someone tickling my ribs and neck and I couldn't help but squeak in protest. The shaking started up again, along with the laughter. I opened my eye a crack to see Jay looking at me intently. "Ah, so you ARE alive after all." he said laughing. I laughed too and pulled my leg off of him, but stayed where I was for the most part. "Luce, you gotta get ALL the way off of me so I can get breakfast." Without saying a word I lifted my head and arm off of him and he rolled out from under me. "Ha well that was the most I could hope for I suppose. I'll be back in a minute then."

"Bring me some too… I'm cold and hungry now." I called after him, my voice slurred with sleep.

"I'm not your damn slave." He called back. There were a few laughs from the other occupants of the room when I sat up, stretching. "What's up guys?" I asked just as everyone busted out laughing. I looked at them questioningly.

"Y-Your h-hai-hair!" they all laughed. I ran to the bathroom and grinned in the mirror as I saw the bird's nest on top of my head.

"Alright, alright, alright. I'm brushing it out… Calm down." I called as I raked my brush through my hair none to gently. Once the knots were out I smiled. My long blonde hair was shining and smooth. I pulled it back into a ponytail and brushed my teeth. As soon as I was all fixed and I ran and took a flying leap at the closest bed filled with people. It just happened to be the boy's bed. I landed on top of Damien and Mitchell with my feet resting on Sam's shoulder and lap respectively. "Hehehe… That'll… teach ya…. to laugh… at me…" I said, looking up into a very peeved Mitchell's face sheepishly. I knew I was in for it. I curled up into the fetal position which unfortunately put me right in front of him. "Don't hurt me!" I squeaked in fear. All he did was snort and push me off of the bed…. Though my flailing around and letting out a quick scream as I fell MIGHT have made me worse off than I would've been had I stayed balled up. As it was I still wasn't hurt and we were all roaring with laughter by now.

I sighed as we left the comfortable motel with the soft beds and great food. We'd spent a second night in the wonderful, relaxing room. We'd all wanted to stay a little longer, but staying in one place for too long was never a good idea for a Half-blood. This time Jay was driving while I played with Ellie in the passenger seat. Ellie and Spyder had stayed in the room with us too, but Spyder had been kept in her carrier while the play pen we'd brought doubled as Ellie's cage. Jay turned the music up loud and drove a little faster to keep up with Grover. Thalia sighed and wished aloud that the Grey Sister's cab could fit 12 teenagers so we wouldn't have to travel so slowly. "And I wish that I was rich but I don't see that happening anytime soon." I said, smiling over my shoulder at her, making her laugh.

* * *

_A/N: Be honest if you review, you guys. And even if you don't I still love you all!  
_


	3. Chapter 3: Staking Claims

**I'm a WHAT!?!**

_**Chapter 3**_

_A/N: Okay, I don't own Percy, Grover, Thalia, or Annabeth. I don't even own the places! In fact, the only things I own are the characters below. Depressing, isn't it._

* * *

**Character Parallels**

**(This is mainly for the people who were the basis of my characters)**

Mitchell Collebri: Ross  
Damien Kingsley: Matty  
Zoey Reed: Allie  
Jay Jones: Zack  
Sam Rockwell: Scotty  
Lucinda "Luce" Sullivan: Me  
Audrey Henson: Regan  
Clarissa Michaels: Caree Jo  
Christopher "Tofur" Williams: Chris

* * *

I grinned as we finally stepped out into the grassy field that led up the hill to Camp Half-Blood. I couldn't believe we were finally here! It had taken a solid WEEK to drive all the way from the middle of Mississippi to New York! It had to have been one of the longest weeks of my life! Especially with our limited access to showers and having to resort to gas station sinks… EW! None of us girls or Damien were exactly happy about that, but what could we do? Nothing, unfortunately…

"AAAAH! GOD…s it feels good to be out of that cramped little truck!" Mitchell groaned, stretching. "Uhhhh… No offense meant to your Kia, Luce…" He said, grinning at me when I started to glare.

"I thought so." I said, rolling my eyes. I stretched too and grabbed all my things from the Kia just as Argus came down the hill to drive the Kia around to wherever it was they kept the vehicles around here. Thalia had told me about Argus, so, once all our stuff was unloaded and everyone had double-checked to make sure nothing was left behind, I handed him my keys. "Take care of my baby, Argus. Make sure there isn't a scratch on her that wasn't there before, okay." He nodded and shook my hand carefully then got in my Kia and drove away. Not long afterwards, the process was repeated with Grover's van and Audrey's beloved and much abused Altima.

"Well... Let's get going, shall we?" Sam said, picking up his bag and starting off towards the tree, the dragon, and the legendary Golden Fleece that awaited us at the crest of the hill. The rest of us shrugged and ran to catch up to him. When we got up to the top I gasped and smiled at what I saw... A large plantation house sat in the middle of acres and acres and acres of land. To the right of and behind the house was fields of rich foods, strawberries, wheat, corn, and grapes, just to name a few. To the left and back of the house was a large training area and then, further to the left, an open air dining pavilion. I scanned the entire scene that stretched before my eyes and smiled. It already felt like a home. I looked as far as I could, and could just barely see the backs of what looked like beautiful, marble temples to all the individual gods and goddesses. There were SO many!

"Okay... Now let's let you all meet Chiron and Mr. D and get the uncomfortable stuff over and done with...." Annabeth said, smiling a bit. I kinda hoped she was joking, but she wasn't... Mr. D was actually Dionysus and he couldn't remember any of our names in the three seconds after we told them to him... Chiron was nice though, so that was a plus. The friendly centaur shook all of our hands and had smiled at us warmly. Then he took all of us on a short tour of the grounds before taking us to where all the temples were. They turned out to be the "campers' " cabins, each god or goddess had a cabin of their own, but we were put into the semi-crowded Hermes cabin where we met a friendly boy with dark brown hair and white-blonde bangs.

"Ah. Newbies?" he asked us as Annabeth, Percy, Grover, and Thalia all left us to go get situated in their cabins. We all nodded solemnly. "Well allow me to introduce myself. I am Christopher Williams, call me Chris or Tofur, whichever you prefer, son of Hermes." he said with a flourish and a smile. I liked this guy already. "I suppose I should give you the basics since good ole Horse-butt just gave you the JUST the tour right? If not, I'll do it anyway." he laughed. "Anyways, the reason you're all lumped into our cabin is because this is where all the noobs stay until they get claimed by their godly parent. So you guys might not want to unpack yet because now-a-days the whole claiming process goes a... lot.... quicker" he trailed off looking over Sam's head. I looked and saw a golden lyre hovering there. "Well, my friend... It looks like your dad's Apollo. Congrats and head on out. You'll be able to pick it out quite easily. Just look for people who look a lot like you and for the cabin that has music coming from it. Oh, and don't worry. That'll go away about 2 minutes after you set foot in your cabin." Tofur smiled at him and pushed my friend out the door, gently.

"So, uh... Does the whole glowing-symbol-over-head thing happen a lot or what?" I asked Tofur as he turned back to us.

"Not really. Only with you noobs. It just means that you've been claimed and then you get shoved/welcomed into your own special cabins." he said. I grimaced. What if my new-found siblings didn't like me...? They were the only family I had over here... Other than Ellie and Spyder anyway... Which reminds me…

"Hey, Tofur? Are we allowed pets here?" I asked as I picked up Ellie in one hand and held up Spyder's carrier in the other.

"Yeah, of course! I've got a duck named DC! Just keep your kitty away from him and he should be good." I smiled at him.

"Awesome!" I said and set Spyder's carrier and Ellie back down on the floor. Ellie just laid down on the cool wooden floor with her head on my feet. I laughed and bent down to ruffle her fur and play with her ears some. Suddenly I heard an intake of breath all around me and glanced up to see, Damien, Zoey, and Mitchell smiling as they stared above their heads at the glowing signs from their parents. Zoey had a glowing crescent moon over her head, meaning she was a child of Nyx, Damien had a glowing dove circling his head like he was a dizzy cartoon character, meaning he was a child of Aphrodite, and Mitchell had a glowing hammer and tongs crossed over his head, meaning he was a child of Hephaestus.

"Well… Three more down, four left to go." Tofur smiled at me and offered a hand to help me up.

"Thanks." I said and helped him shepherd the three newly claimed demigods out the door. I smiled a little and waved at them from the door as they each slowly found their cabins. I sighed and looked back at my slowly dwindling crew of friends. Only myself, Audrey, Jay, and Clarissa were left… And even that wasn't meant to last.

Before we even got settled into our new bunks, Clarissa had a beautiful flower glowing over her head. A child of Persephone… I sighed and hugged her before ushering her out into the little causeway. Now it was just me, Audrey, and Jay. Wonderful… I loved them and everything but I missed the others. They were leaving all too quickly.

When it got dark, Tofur led us over to the dining pavilion and we sat down to eat with him at the Hermes table. Just then, a glowing owl slowly faded into existence over Audrey's dark blonde head. I sighed and squeezed her shoulder as she stood up and walked over to the table full of other blonde haired kids with grey eyes that all looked rather like her, and took her place beside Annabeth. My only female best friend, was now a daughter of Athena… I sighed. Jay threw a comforting arm around my shoulders. I sighed and laid my head on his shoulder to listen to Chiron's welcome speech. Tofur smiled at me and patted my hand.

After the speech, Tofur leaned over and told us that when we got our food, we had to go up to the large brazier in the center and dump some of our food into the fire as an offering to a chosen god or goddess or even all of them. When it was my turn I dumped half of my food into the fire and whispered, "I give this offering to my father." Before I knew it the smell of hamburgers and french-fries assaulted my nose. I sighed and went back to the table and finished what was left of my food even though I wasn't that hungry.

That night I was curled into my bunk, on the verge of sleep when I heard the mattress above me creak. "Hey, Lucy, you awake?" it was Jay.

"Yeah, J.J. What's up?" I asked him quietly.

"Could you come up here for a little while?" he asked.

"Be there in a heartbeat." I breathed as I climbed out of my bunk and up onto his. I looked down at my crumpled, dark grey t-shirt and blue sleep shorts then I looked up at Jay, who was sitting up in his bed, in his white t-shirt and red plaid sleep pants. "What's wrong J.J.?" I asked him again, crawling over to him and smoothing his longish black hair.

"Do you think we'll ever get claimed?" He asked quietly. I smiled. He was the only one able to get away with calling me that name and I was the only one who could call him J.J.

"I'm sure we will. Maybe our parents were just busy today and couldn't claim us yet…. We'll get claimed before too long." I said, not looking at him and playing with his long, tan fingers.

"I hope so… Hey… Who do you think they are? Our parents, I mean" he asked, taking his hand from mine to braid my hair like he often did when he was feeling uncomfortable or bored. Right then he seemed almost afraid… like he needed comforting.

"Honestly? I have no idea… My eyes aren't grey like Audrey's were so I'm not of Athena, and I think Apollo would've claimed me at the same time as Sam if I was his, same goes for Hephaestus, Nyx, and Aphrodite… And you've got black hair and hazel eyes, so I don't think you're the child of any of them…" I said, running a hand through his hair and tracing over his eyelashes. "I don't know J.J…. I just don't know." I whispered, laying my head on his shoulder.

"Me either, Lucy…" he said, slinging his warm arm around me again, his warm palm resting on my hip. I think he might've continued talking, but I fell asleep on his shoulder, warm and comforted.

The next morning I woke up in his bunk with my head in Jay's lap and Tofur's curious eyes looking up at me from the side of Jay's bed. "Ummm. I'm not interrupting am I?" he said, quietly. I yawned.

"No. Nothing happened. Jay and I were talking last night and I fell asleep up here." I said as I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Oh, well good. Anyway, c'mon. It's almost breakfast time. Pretty much everyone's gonna be in their pjs and you can't sit with your friends this time since we only really sit at specific tables for the first night and first breakfast and lunch." he said. "Oh, and wake up your buddy, Jay."

I turned around and grinned. Jay was slack jawed in a deep sleep. I grinned at him and leaned up to him. I blew in his ear and watched as his head snapped onto his shoulder to get rid of the tickling sensation. I bit my lip to keep from giggling and leaned back over to trace a fingertip gently over his face. Suddenly his hand came up and he smacked himself hard on the nose. He jolted awake just as my head hit his lap again and I feigned sleep. He looked around and then at me and I felt his body go slack with relief. A tender hand traced over a few features of my "sleeping" face, like my lips and eyelashes and ran through my hair. I stirred and sat up, yawning again and threw an arm around him. "C'mon, I think it's breakfast time…" I said and leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Yeah. I think so too. Do you think we have to change?" he asked, not even batting an eye at the kiss. That's one of the things I loved about my best friend. He'd kiss me on the cheek for something nice I'd done for him and I'd do the same when he did something nice for me and neither one of us would even so much as blink.

"No. I just saw Chris walking out in his pjs." I said, jumping down from his bunk and landing on the balls of my feet. Jay followed me and we walked out together, our arms hooked together. When we did this at school people used to ask us all the time if we were dating and we'd always have to answer that we weren't. The stupider or more persistent ones would ask us why and we'd have to answer that we were just best friends. We smiled as we walked barefoot down the soft sand path to the pavilion. I smiled at him and we sat down together beside Chris, before we received our breakfast and made our offerings.

Right as we got our plates though, a beautiful, glowing, ornate pair of scales appeared… over Jay's head… A child of Nemesis… How appropriate for him, the most vengeful and rebellious kid in school, that the goddess of revenge was his mother. I felt tears pricking at my eyes as he hugged me and got up to go sit with his new family. I was the only one left unclaimed from our group… I simply dumped all of my food into the fire when it was my turn and again offered it to my father before turning and walking back to my bunk in Hermes cabin.

I was crying as I walked, letting the tears cool my hot face and not bothering to wipe them away. Loud thunderclaps began over head. I glanced up to see that the previously sunny, cloudless sky was now roiling with heavy, dark, rain clouds. Lightning flashed in the clouds as the thunder boomed. Normally people would be scared by this kind of weather, as was evident by the scores of campers running past me as the rain began to pour down, but I stood still, enjoying the cooling rain. I felt a hand rest on my shoulder but I pushed it away, needing to be alone. The hand returned, though and turned me around.

It was Thalia. "Calm down. You've got to get control. We don't want your storm going rogue." She said, smiling at me. I looked at her like she was crazy.

"W-what?" I asked. I didn't know what she was talking about. She simply smiled again and pointed to my shoulder where a glowing eagle perched demurely, preening itself. The lightning and thunder stopped immediately and slowly the clouds disappeared as quickly as they came… Just like my feelings of abandonment.

"Welcome to the family, little sister." Thalia said, walking away, waving.

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_(A/N: Okay, so I got some really good reviews! YAY! :D It's about 3 am right now and I really wanna get to work on Chapter 4 so I'll see what I can do before I have to finish my workout and head to bed. But I've been sick recently so I may not get to work on it before I hit the hay. Keep up the reviews and I'll keep on writing!)_


	4. Chapter 4: A New Cabin

**I'm a WHAT!**

_**Chapter 4**_

_A/N: Okay, I don't own Percy, Grover, Thalia, or Annabeth. I don't even own the places! In fact, the only things I own are the characters below… And very possibly the plot line. Depressing, isn't it?_

_

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_

**Character Parallels**

**(This is mainly for the people who were the basis of my characters)**

Mitchell Collebri: Ross  
Damien Kingsley: Matty  
Zoey Reed: Allie  
Jay Jones: Zack  
Sam Rockwell: Scotty  
Lucinda "Luce" Sullivan: Me  
Audrey Henson: Regan  
Clarissa Michaels: Caree Jo  
Christopher "Tofur" Williams: Chris

* * *

I stood there, dumbstruck as I stared at the eagle perched on my shoulder. I reached up and stroked the eagle's soft, glowing feathers, and was amazed that the eagle felt real. She leaned down to me and rubbed her sharp, curved beak against my open palm affectionately. I was freaked! Weren't these supposed to just be glowing symbols to show who claimed us? I didn't think it would be a real EAGLE! I ran after Thalia, the eagle flying close behind me. "Th-Thalia!" I yelled, throwing out one of my arms as if I could somehow pull her back to me even though she was out of sight.

"Yeeeeeeeeeeees?" she called, sticking her head around from behind one of the columns that lined the walkway.

"Wh-What do I… do with…. the bird?" I huffed, resting my hands on my knees.

"Well, my guess is that Zeus wanted you to keep her… she seems to like you better than me already, and you and I are sisters…. I think she's meant to be yours." she said, smiling.

"Cool! I guess I need to go move into my new cabin. Will you be there with me, since, ya know… You're a daughter of Zeus too…?" I asked as I stood up and looked my new sister in her almost identical blue eyes.

"I can't. I'm one of Artemis' hunters as well as a daughter of Zeus, and I have to stay in my lady's cabin." she said, looking down.

"Don't be sad, Thalia. We'll still see each other around camp." I said, patting her arm and smiling at her. She instantly perked up.

"Yes, I suppose That's true!" She said and smiled at me. "Now, I must be off. Why don't you go get settled in and go tell the others your news. And don't forget to name your new… erm… pet…" And then she was gone, running back towards the Big House.

I laughed at how suddenly she had left and called out "Bye, Thalia!" but she only raised an arm in farewell, not bothering to look back.

I didn't even think about what I needed to do next, move into my new cabin for example, but headed straight for the Nemesis cabin to go tell Jay my news.

I was breathless as I stood on shaky legs in front of the cabin, which was made of wood that was painted black with a fine set of silver scales inscribed over the arched doorway.

I paused and caught by breath just outside the doorway and was about to walk through the door when I collided with something soft and warm. I waited for the impact of the cool floor, but it never came. I tentatively opened one blue eye and it met with Jay's hazel ones. I felt my face reddening. "Uhm… Thanks J.J." I said, giggling awkwardly.

He smiled down at me, his cheeks reddening as well. "No problem, Lucy." He said and looked away from me.

"Uhm… Jay?'

"Yeah?"

"You can let me go, if you want…" I said, turning redder.

"Oh… Sorry." I swore he was coke can red by then, which was quite a feat since he had a kind of gold complexion, and he gently set me back on my feet. "So… Why were you running over here anyway? I was just about to come to Hermes cabin to see you."

"Oh yeah! I came to tell you… I got CLAIMED!" I squealed, bouncing up and down. Jay grinned, it was his signature wide, toothy grin.

"That's great! So who's kid are you? Aphrodite's? Apollo's? Eros's?" I blushed. They are three of the most beautiful gods and goddesses, though all of them are beautiful and/or handsome.

"No! I'm a daughter of Zeus! Thalia's my sister!" I grinned at him. There was shock plain on his face and then it morphed into sincere happiness for me as he engulfed me in a huge hug.

"Ohhhh! That's awesome! Are you where that storm from earlier came from?" he asked, as his face changed from happiness to concern and he slid away from me just a bit, with his arms still around me.

"Yeah… I was kinda upset because I was the only one who hadn't been claimed yet… I felt… abandoned, I guess…" I said, my head drooping forward onto his chest.

"You should know better than that… I would never abandon you… C'mon, Lucy. Quit being so silly." he whispered to me, stroking my hair.

"I know J.J…. And you know that I can't help but be silly... You've known me long enough to know that." My reply was muffled because I'd had my head pressed into his chest. His laughter rumbled through us both, making me smile. "Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to come help me move in and get Ellie, Spyder, and Storm settled?" I asked as I raised my head to look at him.

"Storm?" he asked, a dark eyebrow quirked upward.

"Oh! That's right! You don't know about her! Look over there and you'll see her!" I said, and pointed to the wooden steps where my eagle, who I'd decided to name Storm, perched, staring at us, occasionally preening her still glowing feathers.

"Ohhhh… Well isn't she… ya know… just a symbol of Zeus claiming you and not a real eagle?"

"Nope! She's real! Thalia says that she thinks that Storm was a present from Zeus." I said, smiling at him.

"Cool." He said, grinning again. "Oh, and of course I'll help you." As he spoke, he let go of me, turned me around and slung an arm around my waist to walk me to Hermes cabin to get my stuff. I whistled once and Storm flew onto my shoulder and remained there while we walked. "Neat." Jay said, looking over at the large, glowing bird perched on me.

Once we were there, I stuck my head into the door and waved to Chris, who was reading on his bed. "Oh, hey! C'mon in!" He called, smiling and waving at me to come in.

"I'll just be a second… I actually have to move out…" I said, smiling sheepishly as I pushed the door open all the way to reveal Storm sitting on my shoulder.

"OH! Well congrats! I should've known! All the characteristics are there for a child of Zeus, but they're almost overpowered by your mother's. I'm guessing you and your mother look very similar?"

"Yeah. Her hair is usually darker and her eyes are more green, but she's basically an older version of me. My hair is longer and straighter and my teeth are a little bigger, too." I said, smiling at him. I missed mom… I'd have to Iris message her later… I wonder if I had a Drachma with me?

"I thought so… She must be a beautiful lady then." he said, grinning at me.

"Ha, yeah. Mom is really beautiful." I said, and gathered up all my stuff. It wasn't much… Just some mortal money, about the same amount in Drachmas, my backpack full of clothes and other necessities, and Ellie and Spyder's things, plus the animals themselves. YES! I would be able to IM Mom tonight! What about stuff for my newly acquired eagle? I could probably ask Mitchell or some of the other Hephaestus kids to make a little roost/nest for Storm.

I was glad I had asked Jay for help, otherwise I might not have been able to get it all in one trip. We paused outside of my new cabin… The outside was made of beautiful white marble veined with blue, but the floors were wooden and the walls inside were frescoed to look like the sky, graduating up from dawn near the floorboards all the way to deepest midnight on the ceiling, complete with all the famous constellations painted on. It was beautiful! The bunk beds were large and their frames were dark mahogany that matched the other wooden furniture in the room, while the sheets on the bed were a fine dark blue and the under sheets were a lighter, robin's egg, blue. The pillows themselves were the only white in the room, except for the area rugs that were so plush that your feet sunk into them and the curtains on the windows and things of that nature, making them stand out like little clouds in the otherwise untouched sky. A large, English-style wardrobe stood in the corner. There was an adjoining bathroom too that was a stormy blue and it had a shower, a toilet, and a sink! I was in hog heaven! I heard Jay whistle and all I could do was nod… "Whoa…" I said, letting my mouth hang open.

"Ditto.." Jay said. All the trimmings in the room were either varying shades of blue, or white. I snickered. Mitchell would be so jealous! His favorite color was blue after all…

I looked over my shoulder at Storm, who was now perched on my backpack beside the door to see her feathers slowly losing their eerie glow and were turning a gold-bronze color, while her eyes were a very unusual blue for an eagle. She seemed already happy here, in this cabin. It was like she'd lived here all her life. I smiled at Jay. He seemed just as interested by Storm's relative calm as I did.

"Well doesn't she just look at home?" he said, walking over to her and patting her head gently. She nuzzled his palm like she had mine earlier.

"She really likes you Jay. You and I are the only people she likes so far…." I said and smiled at him. He just nodded and watched as the last bit of the glow disappeared from her feathers. She was just beautiful. Slate grey and onyx black feathers with silvery-grey highlights and under-belly with sky-blue eyes. I smiled and stroked her feathers, my grin widened as she hopped closer to me, so I could scratch her feathers.

"She's pretty…. I guess we should hurry up and get you set up, huh?" he said.

"Yeah, I guess so…. It'll be dark before too long." I said, and picked up my back pack and started unpacking my clothes, hanging them in the wardrobe and putting the things that couldn't be hung into the drawers in the lower half of the it while Jay set up some of my other stuff, not even laughing at me when he set Ben down on my bed beside my pillow. He did, however, raise an eyebrow and shake his head at me. He set my books, iHome, and a few other things on my bedside table and put the rest of my stuff in it's drawers. I went and took a few other items I'd brought with me and stocked them away in the bathroom.

"I wonder if you'll be allowed a mini-fridge." Jay said, holding up my water bottles and a few cans of pet food I'd brought for Spyder and Ellie.

"I don't know... Hey, I'm gonna set up Spyder and Ellie's stuff. Mind giving me a hand with getting their food and water bowls ready while I set up their beds and whatnot?" I asked, holding out the four dishes, two big, two small.

"Why else would I still be here?" Jay said, smiling. We continued talking while we worked. We laughed and hung out for hours and I didn't even notice how late it got until I glanced at my iHome.

It was 3 in the MORNING! Since it was already dark and things would've been locked up already, Jay ended up sleeping in the unused top bunk and eventually went back to his own cabin the next morning. We were both really tired at breakfast the next day but we got to sit with all our friends, so we were all smiles anyway. That is... Until we learned what was on the agenda for us today... Monster fighting, Swordplay, and Monster spotting... Oh My!

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_A/N: Okay my lovely readers! I FINALLY managed to get out chapter 4! I know you must all be a bit peeved that I took so long to get it published, but I've been majorly swamped with life and studying for the Biology state test at my school which is TOMORROW! *screams* I'm TERRIFIED! But I've been assured by my best friend, Zack Jones, that I will do well. :) Anyways, I will stop rambling and start hoping for the reviews of my dreams to come in for this chapter! A special thanks to all those that reviewed my previous chapters! Once again, I love you all!_

_ Love and Rockets, Maiden of the Silver Fires_


	5. Chapter 5: A Sleepover and A Sister!

**I'm a WHAT!**

**Chapter 5**

_A/N: Okay, I don't own Percy, Grover, Thalia, or Annabeth. I don't even own the places! In fact, the only things I own are the characters below… And possibly the plot line. Depressing, isn't it?_

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**Character Parallels**  
**_(This is mainly for the people who were the basis of my characters)_**  
Mitchell Collebri: Ross: Son of Hephaestus  
Damien Kingsley: Matty: Son of Aphrodite  
Zoey Reed: Allie: Daughter of Nyx  
Jay Jones: Zack/someone who shall remain anonymous: Son of Nemesis  
Sam Rockwell: Scotty: Son of Apollo  
Lucinda "Luce" Sullivan: Me: Daughter of Zeus  
Audrey Henson: Regan: Daughter of Athena  
Clarissa Michaels: Caree Jo: Daughter of Persephone  
Christopher "Tofur" Williams: Chris: Son of Hermes  
Esme James: Nicole: Daughter of Zeus

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"Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaay... Heeeeeeeeeeelp..." I called pitifully from the ground as my heavy shield kept me from getting up. I waved my one free arm in the air as he came running. He was all sweaty from his sparring match but he was in high spirits. He hauled me to my feet, leaving the incredibly heavy shield on the ground. "Thanks J.J. I'm dying out here." We'd been here for a week now and after the first few days, we'd quickly fallen into the pattern of things.

"I know what you mean. We need to get some really good rest tonight so we don't die from exhaustion. Why don't you come eat with me in my cabin after we make our offerings?" He said and brushed his longish hair from his sweaty forehead. I smiled.

"Sure. Hey, hold my hair for me?" I asked him as I pulled out my ponytail holder so I could tie it up and out of my face. I'd done well at everything so far, but sparring was difficult since I didn't have my strength built up... yet.

"I do everything else for you, so why not?" He complained, good-naturedly, but held my hair up for me.

"Watch it! I know where you live!" I said in a pretend-scary voice, which only made him laugh. "Well anyway, I've gotta get back to kicking Sam's butt in this duel." I said, spinning away from him and holding my rapier-like bronze sword at his neck. I grabbed up a lighter leather shield and ran back to Sam so we could start sparring again. "Oh! And I'm totally lovin' that wife beater on you, Jay!" I called over my shoulder as I raced back to Sam stood waiting for me. Unfortunately, when I'd fallen it was right as we were taking a short water break and he hadn't been around to help me out.

"Thanks!" he called laughing.

"Okay Sammie, let's do this shiz!" I said, waving my sword in front of him teasingly. I had chosen Sam for my dueling partner because he didn't like hitting girls and might go easy on my and so far he pretty much had but I could tell he was getting tired of dying. "And this time Sammie, don't hold any blows back. Treat it as if you were dueling Mitchell and not me." He smiled at that and ran at me, his dull practice sword swinging in a potentially lethal horizontal arc, but I ducked under, my shield held over my head, and hovered my sword right between his legs where I would've made the cut that sheared him in two.

"HOLY ZEUS! TOO CLOSE LUCE! WHAT IF YOU HADN'T PULLED BACK! OH MY GODS! I'D SO NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" he yelled, pale as a sheet, as I collapsed onto my side laughing insanely hard."I-I'm so sorry if I-I sc-scared you!" I said, laughing as I curled into a ball, convulsing with my laughter.

"I-I w-wasn't going to strike y-you!" I twitched on the ground, but he sighed, stepped away from my blade and helped me up. I smiled at him and hugged him. Reluctantly he hugged me back with one arm, smiling a tight-lipped smile at me and we started again. He didn't like being touched so the fact he hugged me said alot.

I beat him 6 more times that afternoon and he beat me 2 times. By the time we'd finished all the scheduled activities for that day it was dark. We'd stopped sparring just long enough to go eat lunch and then we went back to sparring. Chiron finally broke us up and we went to go get supper. Sam was grinning at me. The last two times we sparred, he'd beaten me but it was only because I'd been tired and breathing hard. "You got lucky, boy." I said, grinning at him.

"So you say." he said, smiling as he waved away my comment. I bumped into him on purpose and he stumbled, laughing with me. "Watch it shorty." he said, patting my head which was a good 6 inches below his, at least.

"Oh shut up, you giant freak." I teased, reaching up and thumping his ear. We smiled at each other and laughed. Just then we heard the old hunting horn that signaled dinner sound. We both patted our empty stomachs and took off running for the dining we got there, we saw Chiron standing there with a small girl who looked to be about our age. She had shoulder length brown hair that faded to blonde on the ends and was curled into natural looking ringlets. She had gorgeous dark brown-goldish colored eyes that reminded me of melted chocolate, with purple-blue mascara and teal eyeliner on. She was little, with a little waist as well, but was built with ample... curves, I suppose. She wore a black tank top with a black hooded jacket and jeans. She smiled at us and waved. She was really pretty. It was then that I noticed she had a glowing eagle perched on her shoulder. I smiled broadly. I had a sister! I immediately ran up to her and hugged her, making her rock back on her heels.

"Um... Who are you and why are you attached to me?" she said awkwardly patting my back.

"I'm your new cabin-mate!" I said, laughing, and released her.

"So... Does that mean we're sisters? The horse-dude said something about my cabin-mate being my half-sibling or something. And somebody please tell me what this huge ass friggin bird is doing on my shoulder!" She said, her arms swinging out in front of her and waving like mine as she had a mini freak-out.

"Yes, I'm Lucinda Sullivan, but you can call me Luce, and that is your eagle from Daddy. I have mine back at the cabin and a friend of mine is making a perch for her. I could see if he could make one for yours." I smiled at her.

"Daddy? Who pray tell is our so called 'daddy'? And... Um... Sure. Also, I'm Esme. Esme James." She said, getting excited and nervous at the same time. Another trait we shared.

"Our daddy is the high god himself, Zeus! And by the way, we need to set you up in the cabin! Let's go find my friend to help get your stuff moved!" I smiled at her and grabbed her arm and pulled her over to where Jay was sitting, waiting on me. He picked his head up from the table where he'd been dozing and smiled at me as I ran up, dragging Esme behind me.

"Hey, Luce. Who's the shorty?" he asked, winking at Esme and striding up to me and wrapping his arm around my neck like he was strangling me.

I just laughed and yelled "CUP CHECK!" while cocking my arm up like I was gonna punch it and he let go of me. grinning.

"You've learned well Grasshopper." He said and ruffled my hair. I slapped his hand away and jumped up to ruffle his, which he took gracefully, grinning at me for having to jump to reach his head. "Anyway, like I was saying, who's the little chick?"

"Hey, Jay, enough with the short jokes." I said, frowning as I saw Esme getting angry.

"You're just defending her because you finally found someone shorter than you." Jay said, sticking his tongue out at me.

"Alright. That's it!" I launched myself at him and we wrestled on the ground for a while. He was nice enough to make sure my shirt didn't expose anything but my stomach and I rewarded him by not pantsing him in front of the everyone as I usually did to win the scuffle. I ended up sitting on his chest facing him, my arms pinning his legs down and my legs pinning his arms down. I grinned down at him and said in my sweetest voice "Jay, dear, this is Esme James. She's my new sister. Be nice or I will rip your man bits off and feed them to you."I saw Esme grinning in the background and she put her hand on my shoulder in appreciation. "You're older than me right?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I think so. My birthday's May 16th 1994." she said, smiling.

"Cool! Mine is December 11th 1994. Mind helping me off my friend?" I asked. She stuck her hand out and pulled me up and Jay dusted himself off.

"Okay okay. I'd hate to have my 'man bits' ripped off and fed to me... I'm Jay Jones. Nice to meet you. By the way, your new sister is mentally unstable. Just thought you should know." he said, shaking her hand.

"Are you... are you serious?" she asked him, glancing at me worriedly.

"Nah. She's cool. Just a little different. She's fun." he said, winking at me.

"I'd better be a little of all three to put up with you and your shit for this long." I laughed.

"Ain't that the damned truth." he grinned.

"So... Jay, darling! I was just wondering if maybe... possibly... youcouldhelpgetEsmemovedin?" I said, in a rush with the last bit.

"I guess... Let's eat first though." he said and slung an arm around me and I grabbed Esme's hand before we walked off and sat at a table where our food appeared as usual. Jay and I jumped up and scraped some of our foods off into the brazier in the center and Esme followed us quickly and did the same.

"Why did we do that?" She whispered to me as we carried our food to mine and now Esme's cabin to eat instead of Jay's, towing Esme's luggage behind us.

"It was an offering to our parents. We give them offerings of food to appease them. It beats sacrificing animals like in the olden days... No matter what Mr. D says." I said, pushing my door open so that Esme didn't have to upset the still glowing eagle on her shoulder. The eagle, which she'd named, Kurai (dark in Japanese) for his dark, almost black coloring, flew off her shoulder and lit on a bed post beside Arashi (AKA Storm).

"Oh… Okay. Makes sense I guess." She smiled and then nearly dropped her plate as she looked around the room for the first time.

"Pretty epic right!" I said proudly.

"Insanely epic…" she nodded and set her bag down. I smiled again.

"Well now it's yours too. Do you mind having top bunk?" I asked her as I began putting her stuff up around the room and setting her clothes in the empty half of the wardrobe.

"Nope! I'm good with it." She said, smiling.

"Sweet. Oh, now Jay will have to sleep down on my bed or on the floor when he stays over." I said, thinking about it. I didn't even notice Esme choking on her drink.

"You mean you two…. Bump uglies?" She sputtered, her eyes wide. Jay and I burst out laughing and fell over each other as we curled up in identical positions on the floor, crying.

"N-No! Ne-Never! We-We're like sib-haha-siblings!" we said together, clutching our sides.

"Sometimes Jay stays over too late so he has to stay here or we just need to talk so he stays here. His cabin-mates don't care and up until now I've never had one TO care." I explained, sitting up and wiping my eyes.

"Oh. Well that explains it… I'm cool with it so long as you two don't do anything and he doesn't try anything with me…" She smiled.

"I make no promises." Jay said, winking at her and leaning over to kiss my cheek.

"You perv. Like I'd ever let you in. Hey, did you bring your bag for tonight?" I asked him, accepting the kiss and catching up his hand.

"No. I thought you were coming over so I didn't bring it. Besides. I think I need to give you and Esme time to shower before we have our slumber party. You kinda reek Lucy." He said, tweaking my nose and running out the door.

"You jerk! I do not! And I showered before I got supper!" I screamed at him from the doorway.

"You didn't do it right then!" came his reply.

"UGH! SHUT UP JAY!" I screamed again.

"You two are so cute together." Esme said to me.

"That's what everyone says, but we're not in a relationship. Do you want first shower or what?" I said, changing the subject.

"It doesn't matter. You go." She smiled and pushed me to the bathroom door.

"Okay. I've got my pjs with me so it'll be all good when I come out." I assured her and went into the bathroom. I didn't take a really long shower, but it was long enough. I put my pjs on and walked back out just as Jay walked in with his pjs and clothes for tomorrow under his arms. He smiled at me and laughed at how I looked. My long hair was all damp in waves and curls and I had on my VH1 t-shirt on and my blue pj bottoms.

"Oh shut it, Jay." I said, grinning at him. Esme ran into the bathroom with her pjs clutched to her chest and sighed as she slammed the door behind her. "So. Were you planning on showering here or did you just not change so you could practice your strip tease for when you grow up and become a male stripper/pole dancer on me?"

"Ah, damn! You guessed the surprise." He said laughing as he sat down next to me. I leaned over and set my head on his shoulder, even though my hair was wet. He swatted at me and made me sit up to put a towel on his shoulder. I did, then I laid back down. He wrapped an arm around me and before Esme came out of the bathroom, I was asleep.

I woke back up just as Jay was laying me down on my bed so I'd be more comfortable. "Well hey sleepy head. I was getting worried." he said, brushing a stray hair from my forehead. I looked around and the room was dark.

"How long've I been out J.J.?" I asked, my words slurred from sleep. I blinked a lot, hoping to clear the fuzziness from my eyes.

"Not long. Esme thought that since you fell asleep, we should go on and head to bed too. I was just about to go shower." he said, smiling gently at me. I looked up as I heard the relaxed breathing of my older sister.

"Oh. Well I didn't mean to disturb you. Go shower. I'll probably be awake when you get back."

"Okay." he said, smiling. So far, Jay and I hadn't spent a single night apart since we'd gotten here. We just needed the comfort of somebody we knew with us. I watched him stride quickly through the doorway and the only light in the room, other than my iHome, shut off when he closed the door. I leaned over and turned on my bedside lamp and grabbed my paperback book to read.

I woke up just before dawn and looked around the room. It was freezing, yet I was all toasty warm. My bedside light was still on, but our 3 plates from dinner had been put in the mini fridge my mom had sent shortly after we arrived. Turns out they were allowed. When I tried to sit up, something held me back. At first I thought it was my sheets but then I realized I was still laying on top of them. I turned my head slightly and saw Jay's sleeping face not far from mine. He looked so innocent when he was asleep. I wondered why Jay hadn't slept on the floor but then I remembered how cold it was and realized he had just wanted to keep me warm. Grateful for his presence, I rolled over under his arm and snuggled into his chest. I sighed and went back to sleep, thanking Nemesis for giving birth to my best friend and then I thanked the Fates for putting us together. I don't know what I'd do without him…

* * *

_A/N: Awe! Sweet ending! As always, I like to thank my lovely reviewers and readers for giving me the strength to keep writing and giving me the encouragement that I needed as well. A special thanks to my beta reader, Lara D, for helping me with so much and to my friends, Nicole, Chris, Zack, the unnamed person, Ross, Matthias, Allie, Scotty, Regan, and Caree Jo, for being the inspiration for all my characters. Love you all!_

_Love and Rockets,_

_Maiden of the Silver Fires_  
_AKA: Savvy_


	6. Chapter 6: More Family and Silliness

**I'm a WHAT!**

_**Chapter 6**_

_A/N: Okay, I don't own Percy, Grover, Thalia, or Annabeth. I don't even own the places! In fact, the only things I own are the characters below… And possibly the plot line. Depressing, isn't it?

* * *

_

**Character Parallels**

**(This is mainly for the people who were the basis of my characters)**

Mitchell Collebri: Ross  
Damien Kingsley: Matty  
Zoey Reed: Allie  
Jay Jones: Zack/someone who shall remain anonymous  
Sam Rockwell: Scotty  
Lucinda "Luce" Sullivan: Me  
Audrey Henson: Regan  
Clarissa Michaels: Caree Jo  
Christopher "Tofur" Williams: Chris  
Esme James: Nicole  
Alexander "Alex" Price: Jordan

* * *

I woke up to see Jay struggling to pull on his jeans while trying not to trip over his clean shirt. I giggled quietly, which of course made him look up, lose his balance, and fall. I was at his side in a heartbeat, his mussed black hair hidden by the loose folds of my t-shirt as his head rested in my lap.

"Jay! Are you okay? Hehe... That rhymed… But still! Are you okay?" I asked him, pushing locks of hair away from his face and trying not to think about how scared I'd been.

"Yeah, I'm good. You worry too much Lucy." He said, smiling at me and tousling my already disheveled hair. He stood up and managed to get his pants on, finally.

"Well still…. I couldn't help but worry. I don't know what I'd do without you if you were hurt. You're my best friend…" I said, frowning. He smiled and hugged me gently, making me smile too.

"Awe. What a touching scene." Esme drawled sleepily from her bunk as she watched us.

"Ya know, she almost annoys me as much as you do. That's an accomplishment." Jay whispered in my ear. Apparently Esme still heard him because a large fluffy pillow was hurled straight into his face. The pillow was shortly followed by Esme herself as she tackled us both and began a massive pillow war.

As we rolled around fighting in a tangled clump of legs, arms, pillows, and hair, some random and slightly useful part of my mind registered the fact that the cabin seemed bigger and that all the furniture in the cabin had been doubled. I heard a knock on the door and we all froze. I managed to shove my head out of our tangle and I called out. "C'mon in whoever you are!" The door swung open to reveal a skeptical looking Chiron and a tall, skinny boy with short, wavy brown hair and kind, dark brown eyes. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder and wore a black Skillet t-shirt and faded jeans. There was a large, glowing eagle perched on his shoulder.

"Should I even ask?" Chiron said, looking at us fondly with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I doubt you'd honestly want to know… It's a rather boring story." I said, smiling wryly at him.

"I'm sure. I just came by to show Alexander here to his new cabin." he said, gesturing to the boy beside him.

"Well cool. I'm guessing he's my, Esme's, and Thalia's brother, right?" I said, waving my arms as I tried and failed to stand and shake my new brother's hand.

"That would be correct, yes." Chiron said, smiling wider at me. "Alex, why don't you go help out your new sister. It looks like she could use some help."

"Um, sure." Alex said, ducking into the room and smiling at me as he grabbed both my hands and pulled me out of the tangle.

"Thanks, Alex. My name's Lucinda Sullivan, but you can call me Luce. There on the floor is our other sister, Esme James, and next to her is our friend, Jay Jones, he's a son of Nemesis and was just leaving." I said, introducing everyone and poking Jay with my foot.

"No I wasn't. I wasn't gonna leave for another hour or so." Jay said, grinning at me and laying his head on his arms.

"YES, you were." I said, sitting on his stomach.

"Ow! Too… Much… WEIGHT!" Jay said, laughing as he pushed me off of him.

"J-Jay… How could y-you s-say something l-like that!" I said, starting to mock-cry.

"Oh! Lucy! C'mon! You know I was just playing!" he said, grabbing my face in his hands and looking at me, sadly.

"R-Really? You m-mean it?" I asked, sniffling and hiding my face with a hand.

"Of course! You're not fat or overweight or anything! I was really just playing!" he said, his panic coloring his tone. He was just too sweet sometimes.

"O-okay… C-can I have a h-hug?" I whimpered, looking up at him through my thick lashes.

"My pleasure Lucy." He said, hugging me close to him.

"Th-thanks J-Jay… Do you m-mind going n-now?… I just want t-to rest for a while…." I said, making my body shiver as if I were still fighting tears. He couldn't refuse me.

"Of course I don't mind. I'll see you at breakfast Lucy." He said, picking me up and laying me gently on my bed and walking through the doors with his clothes under one arm, glancing back at me once to see me curled up, still.

"Is he gone?" I said, peeping my head up from my little ball, my voice back to it's normal pitch.

"Yes." Esme laughed, smiling at me.

"Ah, okay. Well then, back to normal then." I said, popping up from the bed and smiling at everyone with clear, dry eyes.

"Manipulative little one, isn't she?" Chiron laughed.

"Indeed." I said, running over to hug him. Chiron laughed again and hugged me back.

"Well... This was... unexpected..." Alex said, rubbing the back of his head.

"You'll get used to it. Jay hasn't spent a night in his own cabin since he was chosen." Esme said, picking up Kurai from his perch atop a bedpost.

"Well he had better start. I really don't think it's a good idea to have someone who isn't family sleeping here... Especially since Jay's a guy." Alex said, his face slightly apologetic, yet firm in his decision.

"I suppose... He'll understand I hope.." I said. "Oh wow... Hey, your eagle looks really cool. Mine, Arashi, is over there and Esme's got hers, Kurai, sitting in her lap." His eagle had lost his glow to reveal red and gold tinged feathers. I walked over for a closer look. "Name him Kaji! It's Japanese for fire! Arashi means storm and look at her colors, greys, blacks, and blues. Kurai means dark and look at _his_ colors, blacks, darker greys, and gold eyes. They all match." I said, jumping up and down and laughing.

"Okay! Okay! Kaji it is." Alex said laughing.

"Yay!" I laughed and smiled at him. Today was going to be good, I could already tell. "Chiron! Thanks so much for bringing Al-" I started but when I turned, our cabin door was shut and Chiron had left sometime during the naming of Alex's eagle. "Well then... I guess we should get dressed Esme!" I smiled at her and began to rummage through my side of the wardrobe. She jumped up and started rifling through her drawers.

"I call dibs on the bathroom!" She yelled as she dashed for it with her shorts and t shirt in hand.

"We'll share, darnit! I'm not changing in front of Alex! Even if he's our brother!" I yelled, running behind her, and dashing in, t shirt and shorts in hand, just before she closed the door. We hurriedly changed clothes, pulled our long hair into ponytails, and put on mascara. We slipped shoes on before running out the door grabbing a startled Alex and heading to the dining pavilion.

"Hey! Where are you taking me?" Alex yelled as Esme and I ran as fast as we could down the stone pathway, our sneakers making loud crunching sounds.

"Breakfast!" we yelled in unison. I turned to Esme and smiled. Soon we were careening into the pavilion and I bumped smack dab into Mitchell, making us fall over. Esme and Alex ran ahead, not even stopping to ask if we were okay.

"Gods and goddesses! I'm so sorry Mitchell!" I said, my face turning a dark shade of crimson as I pushed myself onto my hands and knees and off of his chest.

"Hehe. Just watch where you're going next time, 'kay Lucy?" He said, laughing and helping me stand up after he brushed himself off.

I growled. "I told you never to call me that, Mitchell!" I glared at him.

"Awe come on! Jay gets to call you that!" he said, grinning in that irritating way he had that made me want to either hit him or give in.

"Jay and I have been friends longer!" I said, throwing my hands up.

"Not true! I met you first!" Now he looked put off that I couldn't remember it.

"We were toddlers! It doesn't count if I can't remember you!" I said. "And don't tell me _you_ remember because you're only 3 months and 13 days older than me!"

"I do though! We were four! You wore a little blue and white dress and white Mary Janes! Your straw colored hair was up in pig tails!"

"And you wore little shorts, a Bob the Builder t-shirt with little grey sneakers, your hair was blonde back then and was done in a buzz cut but that doesn't mean anything!" I countered, and then realized my mistake.

"So you do remember!" He grinned.

"SHUT UP!" I shouted and dashed away to where Esme, Alex, Jay, and the others were waiting.

As we walked up to the table, me, jogging slightly, ahead and Mitchell, tagging along behind me, bothering me with questions about my motives. "_Mitchell_! If I wanted to remember what some random kid I met _years_ ago was wearing I really don't have to explain it to you!" I yelled, rounding on him.

"But it _wasn't_ some random kid! It was me! Why remember me specifically and nothing else?" He asked, his voice slightly pleading.

"Do I _look_ like I know?" I said, glaring at him.

"Yes. Yes you do." He said, grinning at me again in that insufferable way.

"UGH! If you weren't so much fun I swear I would have gotten rid of you years ago!" I said, not joking in the least. I growled as he hugged me from behind, making me stumble into him.

"You know you love it." He said and I could hear THAT grin in his voice. But I grinned too now.

"Maaaaaybe." I said and let my body go limp so I was dead weight in his arms. Unfortunately for me, Mitchell was pretty strong. He just picked me up, slinging me over his shoulder like a potato sack, and walked the rest of the way to the table. "PUT. ME. DOWN. MITCHELL. COLLEBRI. RIGHT. NOW!" I yelled, thrashing around a little.

"Quit moving around or I'll dump you on your a-ass." Mitchell warned, laughing easily. So of course, I stopped moving. He set me down gently on the bench and took a seat next to me. Alex was sitting across from us and he looked confused.

"What's wrong, Alex?" I asked, my head cocked to one side. I'd been poking Mitchell in the side and laughing when he poked me back.

"What just happened?" Alex said, pointing at Mitchell and me.

"This is how they usually are at home." Jay said, rolling his eyes at us. I threw a piece of bread from my plate at him as I got up to give my offering.

"Shut up. Is not." I said, going back to poking and being poked by Mitchell.

* * *

_A/N: I think I like this ending best of all. It makes me smile haha. So anyways big thanks and hugs to all my reviewers and readers and the people who inspired my characters and Lara D my lovely Beta Reader! Thanks again guys! You all rock my socks off!_

_Love and Rockets,  
Savvy  
AKA Maiden of the Silver Fires_


	7. Chapter 7: HE'S my WHAT!

**I'm a WHAT!  
**

**Chapter 7**

A/N: Okay, I don't own Percy, Grover, Thalia, or Annabeth. I don't even own the places! In fact, the only things I own are the characters below... And possibly the plot line. Depressing, isn't it?

_

* * *

_

**Character Parallels**

**(This is mainly for the people who were the basis of my characters)**

Mitchell Collebri: Ross/same anonymous person as below  
Damien Kingsley: Matty  
Zoey Reed: Allie  
Jay Jones: Zack/someone who shall remain anonymous  
Sam Rockwell: Scotty  
Lucinda "Luce" Sullivan: Me  
Audrey Henson: Regan  
Clarissa Michaels: Caree Jo  
Christopher "Tofur" Williams: Chris  
Esme James: Nicole  
Alexander "Alex" Price: Jordan

* * *

_**((A/N: Okay, so since we had to sell Ellie *tear* I am changing the dog's name to Roma, our new puppy's name.))**_

After just a couple of days Alex fit right in. He was my brother after all. Jay hadn't been too happy the first night when Alex sent him back to his cabin, even though we had a free bed, but he quickly adjusted. Soon he had mostly stopped coming by late at night, but between 6 am and 10 pm, Jay was constantly with us. My bed wasn't empty though, and neither was Esme's. Spyder usually slept up in the top bunk with Esme and Roma slept with me in my bed.

Mitchell had finally gotten around to getting some of his siblings to help him make the 3 perches for Kaji, Arashi, and Kurai. The perches looked like a series of bronze rods that lead up to the rafters and were placed in random spots around our cabin. The eagles all seemed to love the perches and frequently could be seen flapping around the room.

I woke up from a fever dream a few nights later to the sounds of a heated argument. "You can't come in! The girls are already asleep! Go away or I'll make you!" That was Alex. His voice, though hushed, was hot with anger.

I sat up slowly and listened but the boys at the door didn't seem to notice. My vision and head were swimming but I tried to concentrate. "Just let me talk to Lucinda! I need to talk to her!" Jay. I could here the desperation in his voice. There was also a slight slur to his words that anyone who didn't know him well wouldn't have picked up. He'd either been drinking or was scared and seeing as we didn't have access to alcohol at camp he must've been scared.

"Look! Luce doesn't need to be woken. You know she's sick." It was true, I was sick but it wasn't so bad that one late night would kill me.

"Alex. It's okay. Let him come in. I'm awake." I said quietly. My brother sighed and came over to check my temperature.

"You're still running a pretty good fever." He turned to Jay, who stood framed in the doorway, "You've got 10 minutes before you make really good friends with my baseball bat."

"Alex… I'm not dying. Chiron said it was just a bad case of Strep combined with a weak strain of the flu and that I'd be fine in a few days." I chided, blushing.

"I don't care. You need your rest and this bozo's not interfering with it." Alex said, sitting down on my bed and handing me a cold bottle of water. He grabbed a second one for himself and laid the icy bottle on my head. He'd been staying up late to take care of me even though I could take care of myself just fine.

"I just need a few minutes alone with her. She'll be back inside of 10 minutes. I guarantee it." Jay said, reaching down for my hand. His voice was calm and honest.

"If she gets any worse you'll regret it." Alex promised, his voice dark. Kaji screeched from his perch in agreement.

Jay nodded and pulled me outside and toward one of the benches that lined the gravel path. "Jay, what's wrong? I know you're scared so don't say 'nothing'."

"Lucy… I just got a quest… You, Mitchell, Alex, and I are going on a search and rescue mission as soon as you're well enough to travel and not relapse. A lot of the satyrs that were helping bring in Demigods disappeared from their posts and no one knows what happened to them. None of them have reported back in weeks, some for months. We need to find out what happened to them and if at all possible rescue them." He said, his voice showed every bit of his fear and concerns. I laid a pale hand on his shoulder.

"We'll be fine Jay. You know that we're some of the strongest new Half-bloods in the camp. There's no way we'll not succee-" I was cut off by a bout of my chest-wrenching coughs. I doubled over and was about to fall down when Jay caught me. He held me close to him and patted my back. He'd picked me up as if I weighed nothing and held me as one might hold a crying child. My legs were cradled up against his stomach, my torso twisted to one side so my head rested on his chest. He just held me there, patting my back, until my coughing fit passed and my stomach stopped spasming with the after effects of coughing so long.

"I think you should go in now, Lucy. We don't need you to get worse and I would prefer not to have Alex's bat shoved up my ass." Jay said with a bitter chuckle. I could do nothing but nod, my eyes were streaming and my throat felt dry and scratched. I lifted my hot head up to his neck, my favorite place for it, so the cool breeze could bathe my face. I closed my eyes, liking this sensation of being carried, and I suppose I drifted off to sleep because I opened my eyes again when Jay had set me down on my bed.

"What happened?" Alex asked, his voice angry and worried at the same time. "What happened to her? Tell me dammit!" His fists were clenched at his sides.

"Easy, easy. She just started coughing and she almost fell over, but I caught her. She wouldn't stop coughing so I carried her back." Alex nodded slowly, the fiery anger dying from his eyes. Alex waved a hand towards the door, no longer angry, but simply tired.

"You can leave now." Jay sighed and nodded. He glanced down at me and squeezed my hand before turning to leave.

"No! Don't go… Please J.J., don't leave me!" I whimpered, weakly grabbing a handful of his shirt. My voice was rough and scratchy sounding.

"Shhhh. Easy Lucy. You're fine. You don't need me to be here for you. You have your _brother_ here for that." He said, picking up my hand and holding it in his. He didn't leave though. He simply sat down on my bed and brushed stray hairs away from my sweaty forehead.

"B-But Jay… Please. Don't leave me okay? I want you here… I've been having nightmares and I never have them around you! Please. Stay here. With me… Just for a little while. 'Til I fall asleep… Please?" Tears pooled in my eyes and I swiped them away in frustration.

"Okay. Don't cry Lucy. It'll be okay. I'll stay with you. _Won't_ I, Alex?" Jay said, his tone making it obvious he was staying, whether my brother liked it or not.

"If she wants you to stay, I'll allow it for tonight. Can you take care of her while I go get a shower?" He asked, running a hand through his hair. He seemed tired and frustrated that Jay was staying.

"Of course." Jay said, smiling. Alex sighed, grabbed a clean pair of pjs and a pair of boxers, and ran into the bathroom. I instantly heard the shower start and I sighed. Jay's anxious face suddenly appeared in front of mine. "Lucy, anything you need or want? Some food or anything? A soda, some water? Seriously. I'll get you anything."

"What I need is for you to relax… And maybe for you to get me a sandwich." I said, not meeting his eyes. I knew my cheeks were rosy from my fever but I couldn't help but think that part of it was because my stomach had growled right in the middle of my sentence, more or less.

Jay was off in a flash, darting across the room to the fridge, finding everything he needed. He was back before it seemed was humanly possible. He handed me the lemon water I hadn't asked for, but wanted anyway, and the ham and cheese sandwich. I raised an eyebrow at my best friend. "How the hell did you do that so fast?"

"Years of practice. Remember when you were in 5th grade and you stayed in the hospital for a week? I visited you every day and when you got out my mom let me take care of you the whole weekend." he said, smiling at me.

"Yeah. I remember being out sick with food poisoning that Monday too." I laughed, eating my sandwich as we talked.

"Well you're the one who asked me for bacon." He frowned.

"But I didn't ask for _raw_ bacon, did I?"

"It was _hot _and _browned_… sort of…"

"That doesn't mean it's safe to eat, dufus." I said, laughing. I reached up and hugged Jay. He smiled and patted my back. I tried to stay sitting up but I really couldn't so I thumped back onto my bed.

"You look tired and half-dead." Jay started.

"Oh wonderful. That's what _every_ girl wants to hear, Jay. What's next, pouring hot soup on my face and rubbing butter on the wounds?" I said, rolling my eyes and yanking my covers up to my chin when I finished my sandwich. **_((A/N: Butter actually makes burns worse, if you didn't know… The skin is raw and hot right? Well you're basically cooking the butter into your wounds and seasoning yourself when you do that… Not good…))_**

"You didn't let me finish, Lucy. I was going to say, you look tired and half-dead,"

"You don't look so hot yourself at 3 in the morning." I muttered.

"So you should get to _SLEEP_."he said with a growl. He pushed me into my pillow and kissed my forehead, his hands were on either side of my head and were supporting his upper body. "I mean it. Sleep-time, you hear me?"

"Sir, yes sir, Sergeant Tight-ass, sir." I giggled, fake saluting him. He grinned and rolled over to lay beside me.

"Someone's got her sense of humor back." Alex said, rubbing his towel across his hair to dry it out a little before he laid down. He shot a venomous glare towards Jay but otherwise seemed pleased.

After assuring both boys that I was comfortable and well fed, we finally were allowed to get some sleep. Jay climbed under my blankets and patted the space beside him. I smiled. He'd missed having someone to hold during the night as much as I did. I scooted over to him and laid my head on his shoulder. He laid his arm across my back and rested his cheek against mine.

"Thanks for staying J.J. I really appreciate it." I whispered into his ear.

"Anything for you Lucy." he whispered back, yawning into the back of his hand. I nuzzled into his neck and smiled. His chin rested on the crown of my head and my knees were just barely touching his thighs because I was curled into him.

"Hey J.J.?"

"Mmm?" he mumbled sleepily.

"I'm really glad you came over tonight." I murmured into his neck, my lips brushing against his cool skin as I spoke.

"Me too. But it's late Lucy, so let's go to sleep." He hugged me quickly with his other arm and rubbed mine. I snuggled into him even more and dropped off to sleep, listening to his soft breathing.

That morning I woke up to Jay having a hissed argument with Alex while trying not to wake me. Clearly it hadn't worked but I stayed where I was, only letting out a small "Uhhhhnn" of discomfort and worming my way closer to Jay.

"See! You almost woke her up! Let her sleep! She needs her rest!" Jay hissed angrily.

"I know that, but she said that you were to be gone after she fell asleep! And yet you're still here!" Alex growled. He was clearly pissed.

"Well clearly she wants me to stay here." Jay said, making it clear he was trying to piss off Alex even further. I felt him gesture towards the way I was draped over him, a leg between his and an arm across his chest.

I mentally sighed 'What the hell, might as well make this fun.' I thought. I moved closer to Jay and sighed, "Mmmm…" I heard Alex suck in a huge breath as I nuzzled Jay's neck in my "sleep".

"Told you she wanted me here." Jay whispered, his voice smug.

"Ya know, it's really hard to sleep when people are arguing in your ear…." I said loudly.

"H-how long have you been awake, Lucy?" Jay said, brushing my hair back so he could see the bemused expression on my face.

"Oh, just before I made that odd 'Uhhhhnn' noise. You guys really should wait until I'm up and out of ear shot before you start arguing." I said, laughing. I swung my legs out of bed and tried to stand up. Unfortunately my legs were still weak. I almost fell over too, but Alex caught me.

"Bed rest. Now." He said gently. He picked me up and set me on the bottom bunk of his set of bunk beds, looking pointedly at Jay.

"But Alex! I don't think I need to stay in bed all day! I feel a lot better now!" I complained. I grabbed his hand and put it up to my forehead. "See! No fever or anything!" I pleaded with him, holding his hand in both of mine.

"Well awesome, but you're too weak to be up for too long. You need your rest to recover your strength so you won't relapse. You're still queasy and can barely stay on your feet long enough to shower and redress." He reasoned. He spoke softly to me, his eyes worried.

I growled, "No fair!" I hunkered into the pillows and rolled my eyes.

"Since when have I been fair?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, his voice was flat as he looked toward Esme's sleeping form and sighed. "How is she still asleep?"

"I happen to be a very deep sleeper." She growled, throwing a pair of socks down at him. Alex shook his head at her and walked over to his wardrobe.

"C'mon Jay, Esme. We have someone taking the day off and watching her for today so we still need to get ready." He said, pulling out his clothes and making his way to the bathroom. He managed to slip into it before Esme could beat him.

"GAH! He's SO infuriating sometimes!" She yelled, pounding a fist on the door. "Jerk!" I frowned and shook my head.

"Yeah, but that's what brothers do. He's still our brother and we still love him." I said softly, looking up at the wooden bottom of Alex's top bunk.

"Awww, I could just barf from all the love." Jay laughed. He walked over and gave me a quick hug as he tugged on his pants and a t-shirt. Then he headed out the door to return to his own cabin and shower.

"Good thing you're headed to the showers then. You'll need it." I laughed. Esme shook her head and followed him out the doors, heading to the communal showers. I carefully stood up, supporting myself with the bed. "Hey Alex!" I shouted, "Who's going to be taking care of me today?"

"You'll find out! Now let me shower! I don't like talking to people while I'm naked!" He yelled back.

"Ugh! Whatever!" I yelled. I slowly laid back down, I had to be careful because of my aching muscles. I grabbed my book and started reading. Suddenly a large hand came down in front of my face, pushing my book down.

"You know I just want you to get better, right?" Alex asked quietly, standing in front of me in shorts as he rubbed his hair dry with his towel. He never met my eyes.

"Yeah… I just… I don't know… I just hate feeling so helpless all the time." I sighed, my breath ruffling my tangled bangs.

"I understand, but you'll never heal up unless you rest.. So please… get some rest… For me?" He pleaded, his voice quiet.

"…. For you." I said grudgingly. He smiled at me, seeming to be pleased.

"Good." There was a sudden knock on our cabin door. "Ah, well about time he got here." Alex muttered under his breath and answering the door.

"He?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"What's up?" Mitchell said, sticking his head in our door. My eyes nearly popped out of my head.

"HE's my… taker-care-of person guy!" I shrieked.

"Got a problem with it?" Mitchell snickered, coming to sit down beside me on Alex's bed.

"Oh, of COURSE not." I scoffed.

"Good because he's taking care of you the rest of the week til you feel better." Alex smiled.

"WHAT!" There I went again… I seriously had to quit yelling or I'd make my Strep worse. Clearly Mitchell agreed because he was grimacing at my tone.

"Hey, I don't have to take care of you if you don't want me to…" His voice was soft and hurt sounding.

"I'm sorry Mitchell… It's just I was startled is all… Alex wouldn't tell me who was taking care of me and then you just show up… Really… I'm fine with it… Please don't go." I said, locking eyes with him, my own soft and pleading. He smiled at me and shook his head.

"Okay. I won't leave you…" He smiled again.

"Well I have to go now. Breakfast and junk…" Alex said, smiling.

"Have fun." Mitchell and I called together. I laughed just as Alex closed the door.

"Hey, Mitchell?" I asked, grinning.

"What?" He said, an eyebrow raised.

"RAPE!" I yelled and poked my finger in his bellybutton through his shirt. He laughed again.

"You're clearly feeling better." Mitchell smiled. "Anything you'd like?"

"Um… Just a shower. And some Frosted Flakes."

"With milk?"

"Duh. Who eats Frosted Flakes without milk, unless they have to!"

"Freaks."

"Hmm… You have a point…" I laughed and stood up slowly. Mitchell was at my side lightning fast, supporting most of my weight as I tried to walk.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice concerned.

"I WAS going to get some clothes so I could shower but now I guess you're coming with me to get the clothes." I said, my voice taught from the effort. Sweat was beading on my forehead and making my hair stick together.

"Ah. Well I could at least carry them or help you in there, and once you're dressed again I can help you." He murmured, smiling a little.

"Okay. But no peeking… It may take a while so no coming in to 'check' either…." I said, leaning around him to crank up my iHome so I could listen to music while I showered. "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry was playing and I smiled. I loved that song. Suddenly I was lifted off my feet and was taken over to my dresser. "Mitchell, put me the hell down right now!" I yelled, irritated.

"You were taking too long." he said simply and pulled open Esme's and my wardrobe. "Go on and get your clothes. I won't look, I'll just hold you up if you need it." he murmured softly, his arms sliding away from my waist as my feet touched the plush carpet.

I grumbled but did as I was told, grabbing a pair of blue plaid boxer shorts (gotten as a gag gift from Jay), a Linkin Park t-shirt, and some under things and waited to be hoisted up again. "Okay. To the bathroom!" I said as Mitchell picked me up, tugging on his lengthening hair. "Yah pony! Yah!" I laughed. Mitchell suddenly whirled me around so that I was no longer hanging over his shoulder, but being carried bridal style.

"Don't pull my hair, 'kay. It just pisses me off." I looked up at him, but he was focused on the doorway ahead of us instead of down at me.

"Oh… okay." I said quietly. Mitchell sat me down on the edge of the bathtub so I could change and shower without going too far.

"You gonna be okay for a few minutes? I have to run out to my cabin and get something, but I don't want you getting hurt while I'm gone…" he said, brushing some fallen hair out of his face.

"I'll be fine, but if you want, I can wait 'til you get back…?" I said, halfway asking.

"If you don't mind…" He said, rubbing the back of his neck, not looking at me.

"No problem." I said smiling. He nodded and ran out the door. I sighed and laid down along the edge of the tub. I stretched like a cat and listened to my music. I smiled and started singing.

"I never knew you could sing…" Mitchell said, leaning on the door frame and watching me.

"I never knew you were a ninja. It explains a lot." I said, smiling a little.

"Thought so. Well since I'm back, go shower and I'll be in the other room if you need me." he said. I nodded and closed the door behind him. I undressed and as I was pulling off my shirt, I caught a glimpse of my stomach in the mirror. I looked a lot skinnier. I must've lost like 14 lbs. I sighed and showered quickly, singing along to "Airplanes" by B.O.B. feat. Hayley Williams. I dried off and quickly pulled on my clothes. Thinking about the smells, I decided to mousse my hair and let it air dry.

I opened the door and stumbled out, the steam billowed around me and Mitchell looked up, droplets condensing on his face. "Damn… You like hot showers huh?" I nodded, licking my lips and heading for the fridge for a lemon water, but I stumbled, my clean, red skin didn't get the chance to touch the carpet before Mitchell was there pulling me up. "You really shouldn't try to do so much Luce. You're gonna get hurt." he murmured and shook his head.

"Well I'm so thirsty though!" I croaked.

"Well let me get it for you then!" He groaned, picking me up and setting me down in Alex's bed. He ran and got my water and then plopped down on the end of the bed and began to draw something. I was reading my book when I heard a quiet, "There!"

I looked up to a triumphant Mitchell. "What's 'There!'?" I asked, smiling.

"I just finished a drawing. It looks perfect!" he smiled.

"Well let me see!" I said, holding out a hand for his sketch pad. He groaned and, after several minutes of tugging and pleading, he reluctantly handed it to me and I looked down. It was very nice, but it surprised me. It was a picture of us and some of our friends. He, Jay, Audrey, Sam, and I were standing in front of our school. Audrey and I were making faces together as we attempted to climb on the boys' backs. I had a hand on Mitchell's head so I could push myself higher up and his expression was priceless! "Wow Mitchell! It's looks great! Just like the picture!" I smiled. He laughed and took it from me.

"Thanks Luce, why don't you try to rest some now?" I nodded and curled up around my pillow. I dropped off to sleep with a smile as I listened to him humming some tune I recognized but couldn't place.

* * *

_**A/N: Okay... so I know that I haven't updated in forever but things got weird for a while and there was alot of stuff going on with my little brother getting into too many fights, he's ended up transferring schools now actually, and some things are messed up but some things are a ton better, so you'll have to forgive me... If not, that's okay too... Sorry if the ending is weird... It was late when I wrote it and I'm still kinda tired... So anyways... R and R and junk. Lots of love to my friends and my Beta Reader! Thanks guys!**_

_**Love and Rockets,**_

_**Maiden of the Silver Fires**_

_**AKA: Savvy  
**_


	8. Chapter 8: Take it OFF!

**I'm a WHAT!**

_**Chapter 8**_

_A/N: Okay, I don't own Percy, Grover, Thalia, or Annabeth. I don't even own the places! In fact, the only things I own are the characters below… And possibly the plot line. Depressing, isn't it?_

* * *

**Character Parallels**

**(This is mainly for the people who were the basis of my characters)**

Mitchell Collebri: Ross/Dylan  
Damien Kingsley: Matty  
Zoey Reed: Allie  
Jay Jones: Zack/Dylan  
Sam Rockwell: Scotty  
Lucinda "Luce" Sullivan: Me  
Audrey Henson: Regan  
Clarissa Michaels: Caree Jo  
Christopher "Tofur" Williams: Chris  
Esme James: Nicole  
Alexander "Alex" Price: Jordan  
Jamie Corbel: Dylan

* * *

I woke up late that afternoon to find Mitchell asleep against the wall. I snorted quietly. "Some babysitter he is." Mitchell stirred in his sleep. I shook my head and tried to stand up. I grabbed the bedpost and pulled myself to my feet. Thankfully, this time I was able to support myself. I smiled in triumph and took a hesitant step away from the bed post. My knees wobbled but otherwise I was fine. "YES!" I grinned and jumped up and down a little. I walked over to Esme's and my wardrobe and grabbed some clothes. I looked towards where Mitchell lay sleeping and sighed. I slowly made my way to the bathroom and closed the door quietly. I changed as fast as I could and tried to make myself presentable. Thank the gods I'd already washed my hair this morning so it was silky, soft, and smooth.

After leaving a note taped to Mitchell's chest, I slipped out of my cabin door, my tennis shoes crunching the gravel beneath me. I had my face turned up to the sky, smiling at the fluffy white clouds that rushed across the sky. I was enjoying the feel of fresh air stirring my hair and clothes when I suddenly collided with something hard and warm. My legs crumpled from underneath me but I didn't hit the dirt as expected. Strong arms held me up. I blinked and looked up into the face of my rescuer. Amazing green eyes met my own and I immediately blushed and looked away. "Thanks for catching me… I'm just getting over being really sick and I'm still pretty weak." I managed, feeling myself go red from head to toe.

"No problem, but should you be really outside if you're still so weak?" he asked. His voice was a gentle baritone and a little gravelly.

"Yeah, I'm okay now… Um.. I'm Lucinda Sullivan and you can put me down now if you want…" I said, my gaze still averted.

"Oh, sorry." He said, his voice saying he was embarrassed. He let go of me and I staggered a little as my legs were suddenly put to the task of holding my body up again. "I'm Jamie Corbel. Nice to meet you Lucinda." Jamie said. I turned back toward him and shook the hand he held out. I smiled now.

"You can just call me Luce. Pretty much everyone else does. My family included." I laughed. "I'm a daughter of Zeus, who's your godly parent?" I asked, my smile still intact.

"I'm a son of Poseidon." He said and smiled at me. I blinked.

"You don't look like one of Poseidon's kids." I said, laughing.

"So I've been told." he laughed with me. He shook his dark brown hair out of his eyes and smiled at me. His green eyes sparkled. They were amazing. The outer rings were a dark, forest green that faded into the color of a fresh olive, then, around his pupils, were sunbursts of orange and yellow. My stomach fluttered as I looked at him and I could feel myself getting lost in those eyes. I shook my head and laughed, trying to shake off that weightless feeling.

"Um, so do you know where your cabin is?" I asked, suddenly nervous.

"Actually, no. I just got here and I was on my way to find it. I wouldn't turn down a little help though." He smiled again. I laughed and looped my arm through his and walked back the way I came and led him to his cabin. Percy was there with Annabeth and Grover.

"What's up Seaweed brain, Blondie, G-man?" I said, smiling as I walked up with Jamie.

"Not much. Good to see you up and walking around again. Who's that?" Percy asked, removing his arm from around Annabeth.

"Your new brother." I said, smiling.

"But he doesn't look like…" Annabeth started, pointing between Percy and Jamie, but Jamie cut her off, smiling.

"I know. Luce informed me." He grinned, winking at me. I blushed again and smiled.

"Jamie says that he takes after his mom…" I explained in one of my rare, quiet voices. At that Jamie looked down at me and saw how embarrassed I was. He blushed too and looked in another direction..

"And I would guess my dad in height…" he said, looking pointedly down at me. He stood a full foot taller than me, which wasn't saying much since I was only about 5'3"- 5'4" tall. I hated how short I was… Still, Jamie was extremely tall. I blushed a deep shade of red and stepped away from him a little.

Annabeth and Percy laughed at me. "Well… You know where your cabin is… I'll just be on my way now…" I said, backing away slowly. Ole Seaweed brain and his girlfriend were laughing openly now as I walked away. Poor Jamie was watching me, confusedly. I felt bad leaving him like that but I had to get away before I made a fool of myself.

I raced through camp until I found Jay sparring in the arena. "Jay. Come with me… Now please…" I said, grabbing up a sword and quickly disarming his opponent with a flick of my wrist. Swordplay came naturally to me now, as easily as breathing. "Sorry dude." I said to his opponent as I walked away.

"Where to?" Jay asked, snatching both our swords and putting them up. I helped him unbuckle his armor and put it away then ran back to my cabin to change.

"Clubs. Any kind. I need a distraction and sparring and drawing isn't going to cut it. I need to go out and I need you to come with me." I said, sifting through my clothes. Finally I put on a close fitting, silver sequined shirt, some black jean shorts, and black gladiator heels. Heavy silver chains hung around my neck and shined against my shirt. I waited on Jay to find something suitable for clubbing in New York.

"Will this do?" he asked, walking in front of me and pointing to his outfit. He had on dark wash jeans, a red wife beater under a black button down (unbuttoned), and red and black Pumas.

"Sexy." I nodded in approval as I fixed my make up and hair in the bathroom mirror.

"Mhmmm… What's sexy?" came Mitchell's sleepy voice.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep." I said, quietly.

"Not a chance… Where are you going?" he said, instantly alert after glancing at us. My now shoulder length hair (cut for the hot summer weather) was flipped at the ends and full of body and a mist of glitter spray. Light silver eyeshadow and black eyeliner and mascara made the blue of my eyes stand out against my slowly tanning face. Big silver hoops dangled from my earlobes. Jay had made his signature faux-hawk and had diamond studs in his ears.

"Ugh… We're going clubbing… I need to get out and Jay is coming. If you want to come, get dressed in some great clothes." I said, throwing other clothes into my wardrobe. I grabbed a magical hair pin that transformed into my personal sword, Kagamino Hikari (Mirror of Light), from my dresser and slipped it into my hair.

"Back in a flash." he said, jumping up. He was back, after three minutes, in some acid wash jeans, a DC shirt, and some black DC sneakers, with his shaggy brown hair flipped and spiked in the front. "Let's go." he said. I nodded and snatched up my keys.

We left our respective cabins notes of our whereabouts and ran to find Argos. We found him near the Big House, working in a strawberry patch. After explaining the situation, he went and got my Kia from storage. We, all three, thanked him and before we knew it we were zooming down the streets of Manhattan, yours truly at the wheel.

When I deemed it acceptable to stop, I quickly parallel parked outside an under 21 club. I purred, in pleasure, under my breath and opened my door and stepped out onto the street. I slammed my door and grabbed Jay and Mitchell's arms. The bouncer at the door glared down at us through mirrored glasses. I glared daggers at him and growled, "They're with me." before walking right past him. I may be short but I can make myself seem 10 feet tall when I get angry.

As soon as we walked in, the base from the song that was playing thrummed into our bones. I grabbed the guys and started to dance with them(not in that nasty raunchy way with all the bumping and grinding. I'm not that kind of girl.)

_There's a place downtown,_  
_ Where the freaks all come around._  
_ It's a hole in the wall._  
_ It's a dirty free for all._

_ When the dark_  
_ Of the night comes around._  
_ That's the time,_  
_ That the animal comes alive._  
_ Looking for_  
_ Something wild._

_ And now we lookin' like pimps_  
_ In my gold Trans-Am._  
_ Got a water bottle full of whiskey_  
_ In my handbag._  
_ Got my drunk text on_  
_ I'll regret it in the mornin'_  
_ But tonight_  
_ I don't give a_  
_ I don't give a_  
_ I don't give a_

_ There's a place downtown,_  
_ Where the freaks all come around._  
_ It's a hole in the wall._  
_ It's a dirty free for all._

_ And they turn me on._  
_ When they Take It Off._  
_ When they Take It Off._  
_ Everybody Take It Off._

_ There's a place I know_  
_ If you're looking for a show._  
_ Where they go hardcore_  
_ And there's glitter on the floor._

_ And they turn me on._  
_ When they Take It Off._  
_ When they Take It Off._  
_ Everybody Take It Off._

_ Lose your mind._  
_ Lose it now._  
_ Lose your clothes_  
_ In the crowd._  
_ We're delirious._  
_ Tear it down_  
_ 'Til the sun comes back around._

_ N-now we're getting so smashed._  
_ Knocking over trash cans._  
_ Eurbody breakin' bottles_  
_ It's a filthy hot mess._  
_ Gonna get faded_  
_ I'm not the designated_  
_ Driver so_  
_ I don't give a_  
_ I don't give a_  
_ I don't give a_

_ There's a place downtown,_  
_ Where the freaks all come around._  
_ It's a hole in the wall._  
_ It's a dirty free for all._

_ And they turn me on._  
_ When they Take It Off._  
_ When they Take It Off._  
_ Everybody Take It Off._

_ There's a place I know_  
_ If you're looking for a show._  
_ Where they go hardcore_  
_ And there's glitter on the floor._

_ And they turn me on._  
_ When they Take It Off._  
_ When they Take It Off._  
_ Everybody Take It Off._

_ Oh, oh, oh!_

_ EVERYBODY TAKE IT OFF!_

_ Oh, Oh, Oh!_

_ EVERYBODY TAKE IT OFF!_

_ Right now! TAKE IT OFF!_  
_ Right now! TAKE IT OFF!_  
_ Right now! TAKE IT OFF!_

_ Oooh._

_ Right now! TAKE IT OFF!_  
_ Right now! TAKE IT OFF!_

_ EVERYBODY TAKE IT OFF!_

_ There's a place downtown,_  
_ Where the freaks all come around._  
_ It's a hole in the wall._  
_ It's a dirty free for all._

_ And they turn me on._  
_ When they Take It Off._  
_ When they Take It Off._  
_ Everybody Take It Off._

_ There's a place I know_  
_ If you're looking for a show._  
_ Where they go hardcore_  
_ And there's glitter on the floor._

_ And they turn me on._  
_ When they Take It Off._  
_ When they Take It Off._  
_ Everybody Take It Off._

Jay and I started off with our backs to each other and were dancing like that while Mitchell faced me. I suppose we made a Luce sandwich but I didn't care. I had my hands over my head as mine and Jay's hips swayed in unison. I laughed and kept tempo with my feet. My body was shimmering with the glitter slowly falling from the ceiling and that was pooled on the floor.

Then I swung Jay around so I could dance with him better and we were just having fun. He slid one of his arms around me and we got low, side by side and came back up. We loved every second of it because all eyes were on us.

Later Mitchell was on my other side, dancing with both of us and all three of our bodies were repeatedly knocked into and sliding against one another but no one took notice as we all shouted the lyrics.

I shook my head, a cloud of iridescent glitter floating out, and slid up, chest to chest with the nearest person. Jay grinned down at me wrapped an arm around my waist as we jumped together to the beat.

The song had just ended so I slung arms around the guys and headed to the bar. We ordered 3 Dr. Peppers and sat and watched the mayhem on the dance floor. Glitter and shiny confetti was stuck to our skin and in our hair. I grinned at the guys.

"I wasn't expecting 'Take It Off' by Ke$ha to be played. Gods I love that song." Jay laughed, leaning his head back, exposing his throat. I laughed.

"Clearly. So. Do I know how to pick a club or what?" I asked, grinning.

"I'll admit. It does not suck." Mitchell smiled.

"It really doesn't. Though I'm not sure I like the music." We all turned towards the new voice and I swear my heart jumped into my throat. There, clad in a black t-shirt and black jeans was Jamie.

* * *

_A/N: Soooo... sorry for the wait... I just got into a new relationship and things have been crazy. But life is sweet right now. So big thanks to all my readers, reviewers, friends, and beta reader. And in case you didn't know, I do NOT own "Take It Off" by Ke$ha... Ke$ha does... Dur :)_

_Love and Rockets,_

_Savvy  
AKA Maiden of the Silver Fires  
_


	9. Chapter 9: That'll Do It

**I'm a WHAT!**

* * *

_**Chapter 9**_

_A/N: Okay, I don't own Percy, Grover, Thalia, or Annabeth. I don't even own the places! In fact, the only things I own are the characters below… And possibly the plot line. Depressing, isn't it?_

**

* * *

Character Parallels**

**(This is mainly for the people who were the basis of my characters)**

Mitchell Collebri: Ross/Dylan  
Damien Kingsley: Matty  
Zoey Reed: Allie  
Jay Jones: Zack/Dylan  
Sam Rockwell: Scotty  
Lucinda "Luce" Sullivan: Me  
Audrey Henson: Regan  
Clarissa Michaels: Caree Jo  
Christopher "Tofur" Williams: Chris  
Esme James: Nicole  
Alexander "Alex" Price: Jordan  
Jamie Corbel: Dylan

* * *

"Wh-What are you doing here?" I stuttered, my eyes going wide.

"I was sent to get you guys back… Mr. D and Chiron said you guys weren't supposed to leave the camp… Argos thought that when you said you were going clubbing, you meant clubbing monsters over the HEAD…" Jamie said, laughing. I blushed.

"Sorry…" I said, and looked away. I heard two snorts of incredulity from Jay and Mitchell.

"It's not your fault. No one told you, but surely you must have realized that you were open to monsters." He said, his eyes showing concern and something else I couldn't put my finger on.

"Not really… I didn't think about it… I just had to get away." I said, my face turning even redder as my eyes met his again. He gently grabbed my arm.

"That's another thing," he said pulling me away to a quieter spot. "Why did you all but run away from me earlier?" He asked, his voice hurt. He looked back at my two friends and his gaze hardened, this time with jealousy.

"I… I don't know… I had to get away… I didn't want to look like a fool in front of you..." Why was I telling him this? He hasn't known me for more than a few hours at most and here I am spilling my guts!

"You couldn't if you tried. And besides, I like a girl who can make me laugh." Jamie said, smiling the most amazing smile I've ever seen. I laughed a little, my newfound nervousness choked me.

"Well… I can certainly do that." I laughed. WHY WAS I SO FREAKING NERVOUS! WHY! Just then, as random chance had it, a slower song came on. It was Fall for You by Secondhand Serenade, a favorite of mine.

"May I?" he asked, in that wonderful voice of his. I nodded, too surprised and oddly delighted to speak, and his arms slid around my waist. I threaded my arms around his neck, which was a stretch for me, by the way. That's what I get for dancing with a 6'4" demigod when I'm only 5'4" I guess. For a little while we danced together and I felt happy. I felt like I was where I was supposed to be, which was so weird… but it was a good weird…

I smiled a little and laid my head on his chest. He even smelled wonderful. Like cedar shavings and the ocean. All too soon the song ended, but even though the music was back to the fast, more natural club-like music, Jamie and I stayed dancing like we had been. He pushed some hair behind my ear and smiled down at me. I stopped dancing and stood up on tip-toe to brush some of his hair out of his eyes. He laughed and it made me smile.

The abrupt coughs from behind me made me turn around sharply, my hand reaching into my hair for Kagamino Hikari (I really like Japanese, if you haven't noticed). I glared at Jay and Mitchell who glared right back at me. I took my hand down slowly, legitimately considering what the Mist would do to the mortals if I suddenly killed the two of them with my sword.

"I thought you came to get us, not to dance with my friend." Jay almost snarled. I glared at him and felt my hands ball up into fists.

"Maybe, but Chiron didn't say when I had to be back with you guys. And besides, I didn't hear her complaining." Jamie said, stepping around from behind me and looking Jay in the eye.

"Frankly, I wasn't complaining at all." I said, glaring daggers at Mitchell and Jay.

"Maybe so, but I think it's time we head back." Mitchell said through clenched teeth.

I sighed and smiled with fake cheer. "You're right. Have fun riding in the back because Jamie's riding shotgun. And you had better be grateful I don't leave your asses here and make you take a cab back to camp." I said in a saccharine sweet voice as I batted my long lashes. The boys looked bewildered but I grabbed Jamie's hand and stormed off to my car, dragging him in tow.

"Ya know something Luce? You've got some cajones on you." Jamie said, laughing as I pulled him down the block to where my Kia was parked. Someone stood next to it, clearly trying to break in, but I snarled and took out Kagamino Hikari out and pointed it at them.

"Move or lose your head." I snarled, winking back at Jamie. If they were a mortal they'd see my sword as a gun or something else and if they weren't mortal, I could kill the monster just as easily. The person in question looked up at me from under a large hooded trench coat. Red eyes surrounded by matted brown fur glared at me and horns protruded from under the hood. "Minotaur." I whispered before he lunged. I pushed a bewildered Jamie away and stabbed at the Minotaur viciously. He blocked with his arm and a gout of black ichor sprayed into the air, mostly hitting my truck.

"You asshole! Do you KNOW how LONG it'll take me to wash that ichor off of my CAR!" I snarled and before he could make a move I jumped onto his chest and began slashing at him with my sword. He tried to grab me by the scruff of my neck but I jumped a little higher on him causing him to slash down my back with his claws. As he tried to buck me off I howled with rage and pain and drove my sword into his forehead, right between his eyes.

The Minotaur disappeared into golden dust and I landed on my feet, just barely. I huffed and blew hair out of my face, trying to ignore the fiery ribbons of pain across my back. I stood up straight but almost passed out from the pain. Jamie was there in a flash, holding me up and examining my wounds. I whimpered as his gentle fingers probed my gashes.

"Shhhh… It's okay… You're fine. I just have to make sure they didn't go deep enough to puncture anything." Jamie said, and kept muttering reassurances to me as he took off his shirt and tried to clean the cuts and staunch the blood.

"What's going on here!" Mitchell and Jay yelled at the same time as they walked out of the club. They were at my side in seconds. Jay held my hand and Mitchell looked at my cuts.

"We were walking out to the car and Luce pulled out her sword on this guy who was trying to break into it and it was a Minotaur. She managed to kill it pretty quickly but not before he did that to her…" Jamie explained, reaching out for me.

"And you didn't even TRY to help her! What kind of man ARE you?" Mitchell snarled, bowing up at Jamie.

"Stop! It's not his fault! He didn't even know what was going on and he's too new to be of any help!" I croaked, tears streaming from my eyes as I stood up straight, wrenching my hand from Jay's grip. "Let him help me by binding me up." I whimpered and walked into a nearby alley-way where I leaned against the wall. "Jay, Mitchell, one of you give me your shirts and I'll put it on over mine so he can bind me up without seeing anything. Jay, you can help him." I said. Mitchell handed me his shirt and helped me pull it on. Jay grabbed the collar of my now ruined shirt and pulled it up, over my head and threw it down in the alley. Mitchell's shirt was warm and hung loose over me, but it did it's job and kept me covered while the boys worked on me. Jamie sent Jay back into the club for a bottle of water and Mitchell to the car to see if I had any ambrosia or nectar to help the healing process.

"You're tougher than I would've given you credit for, Luce." Jamie whispered. I laughed grimly.

"You didn't see me when I went through training for the first week at camp. It was terrible." I smiled at him. I wiped sweat out of my eyes and laughed again. Soon Jay was back with a bottle of spring water and began rinsing out the cuts before they were dabbed dry and bound by Jamie. Meanwhile, Mitchell helped me eat the little bit of ambrosia and drink the bit of nectar I had stowed in the car for just such an emergency.

When I was sufficiently taken care of, the boys picked me up and laid me in the back seat, my head on Jay's lap as he stroked my hair. Jamie sat in the passenger seat and kept glancing back at me. I reached into my pocket and threw my keys to Mitchell.

He got us back to camp in no time flat and they all carried me to the Apollo Cabin so they could help me. "What in Apollo's name happened to you?" Sam asked as he came running up.

"Minotaur attack. She killed him quickly, but not quick enough." Jay said as he helped me lay face down on a nearby bed.

"Ah. That'll do it. Well we need to get to those cuts before infection can set in." Sam said, kneeling down next to my head. I was breathing harder now, the pain becoming more and more intense. "I have to get a look at the cuts Luce. I promise I won't look at anything else, but you have to let me help you." I nodded and he hurriedly undid the makeshift bandages under my shirt. "Alright. I'm gonna lift up your shirt just in the back so I can get to them. It's nothing we haven't seen while you're in a bathing suit." I just whimpered and told him to hurry.

He slid Mitchell's shirt up to my shoulders in the back and untied the bandages one by one. I heard a hiss of disgust from behind me. "What!" I said, my thoughts distracted now.

"The cuts are green… That Minotaur must have had some poison or something on his claws." Sam said, his voice grim.

"What does that mean then?" I asked, my voice a bit shaky.

"Relax, we just have to put a bit of out special salve on it. But it WILL burn so be prepared." He said. He grabbed some peroxide from a cabinet and boiled out the cuts first, then he grabbed a small pot of the salve. It smelled like wheat and burned almost as bad as the cuts when he rubbed it in. Soon after, though, the burning subsided and was replaced by a cold feeling. At least it didn't hurt now.

"Okay, that should speed up the healing process but you have to take it kinda easy for about a week. It should take it that long at least to knit the top layer of skin back together and then it's got a bit of internal healing to do. Those cuts were surprisingly deep and you need to rest. If you'll come to me once a day I'll help you reapply it or someone else can help you and the salve helps keep the pain away so you don't want to miss it." Sam said as he wrapped fresh bandages around my torso and pulled my shirt back down. I sat up gingerly and reached out for some help up. "You have to stay off of your feet, otherwise you'll risk reopening the cuts." Sam said and started to help the guys carry me to my cabin.

"I'll be okay… I'm strong enough to walk." I groaned. I stood up gingerly and bit my palm to keep from screaming.

"No. You lie your ass back down or I will make you." Mitchell growled at me and I glared at him through the tears gathering in my eyes.

"Maccch meh!" I said, around my palm.

"He's right for once, Luce. You need to lie down." Sam said.

"Buh ah cun doo dis!"

"No! You can't! Now sit down before I tranquilize you!" Sam growled, his eyes narrowing at me and holding up a small vial of blue liquid. My mouth dropped open and my hand fell to my side, tiny dribbles of blood plopped onto the floor from my bite marks as I sat down on the bed again. "Good girl. Now let me see your hand." He said, his voice losing the hard edge as he picked it up and cleaned it. "You shouldn't have bitten so hard, Luce." Sam frowned and reached for more of that salve.

"Well it fucking hurt!" I muttered under my breath.

"Well how about listening to someone then!" He snapped at me as he finished binding my hand.

"Ah! That hurt!" I winced.

"Sorry. Don't do it next time."

"There had better not be a next time if that Minotaur knows what the hell is good for him." My head started to spin and Sam smiled at me, nodding his head. "Wh-what did you-?" I tried.

"Sedative mixed in with the salve. You need your rest." He said smiling and caught me as I slumped over onto his shoulder.

"Bastard…" I slurred as my eyes shut without my permission. I woke up, Zeus knows how long later, to a sleeping Jay on one side of me and Mitchell slumped against the wall by my feet on the other. I sat up slowly, wincing in pain, to see several sleeping friends strewn across my cabin. Sam was the only other one awake in the room besides me and he looked tired. "Wha-?" I started.

"I sedated you and you've been asleep for a long time. You've been running a high fever as an adverse reaction to the poison in your system. I've been up for 13 hours straight, trying to get it to break." He said, smiling as he put an arm across his eyes. He has insomnia anyway, but still… I felt bad. He looked down at me. "Let me see if your fever's broken." Sam said and leaned down, putting a cold hand on my forehead and leaning his on the other side to compare. He pulled away and snorted. "Dammit… Not yet."

"…Sorry." I said, quietly.

"It's not your fault, Luce. You've gone down some but you're still feverish." He gave me a tired smile and ran a large hand through his short, blondish brown hair.

"Why don't you get some rest, Sam?" I said, yawning a little and easing myself back onto the bed.

"Not until your fever's broken… You know how stubborn I am." He said, smiling at me and laughing a little. I yawned really big and nodded.

"You're one of the most stubborn I know, but you wouldn't be you without it, Sam." I said, closing my eyes and smiling.

"Thanks Luce, that means a lot." he laughed as he moved about the cabin.

I woke up much later with a cold compress on my forehead. I carefully sat up and looked around to find everyone had moved. Mitchell was asleep on another bed next to Clarissa, who'd come to visit me, and her boyfriend, Hayden, a son of Nemesis like Jay. Jay was asleep in Esme's bunk while she was sleeping with her head against the wall. I heard Audrey sleeping above me and saw Jamie asleep on the floor below my bed. I laid back down but not before noticing that Sam was asleep on the end of my bed with a bottle of medicine in one hand and a cloth in the other. He was smiling in his sleep and I did too before heading back off into a deep sleep.

* * *

_**(A/N: Okay! Soooo new chapter! My friend Scotty is now showing up more, we have a bit character that will be mentioned in passing occasionally for Clarissa, aka Caree Jo. And if you haven't noticed, I have a love interest now, my boyfriend Dylan to be exact! And anywaaaaays... BYE! R&R! 3 you all! :D )**_


	10. Chapter 10: We Need to Talk

**I'm a WHAT!**

* * *

_**Chapter 10**_

_A/N: Okay, I don't own Percy, Grover, Thalia, or Annabeth. I don't even own the places! In fact, the only things I own are the characters below… And possibly the plot line. Depressing, isn't it?_

* * *

**Character Parallels**

**(This is mainly for the people who were the basis of my characters)**

Mitchell Collebri: Ross  
Damien Kingsley: Matty  
Zoey Reed: Allie  
Jay Jones: Zack  
Sam Rockwell: Scotty  
Lucinda "Luce" Sullivan: Me  
Audrey Henson: Regan  
Clarissa Michaels: Caree Jo  
Christopher "Tofur" Williams: Chris  
Esme James: Nicole  
Alexander "Alex" Price: Jordan  
Jamie Corbel: Dylan  
Krista Crawford: Lauren

* * *

I woke up to someone sitting down on my bed. "What's going on?" I asked rubbing my eyes sleepily.

"Oh, Luce! I'm sorry! I didn't want to wake you!" Sam said, furrowing his eyebrows. "But that is a good sign… You're becoming a lighter sleeper which suggests that your body no longer needs so much rest. In other words, you're getting better." He smiled. "I was just going to check your temperature."

"Sounds good." I said, smiling. He leaned down and put his forehead on mine and I held perfectly still.

"Much better. Still a slight temperature, but you're doing much better." He said, sitting up. I smiled.

"Do you think I could get up and walk around a little? Just to stretch?" I really wanted to move. I was full of nervous energy.

"I don't see why not. After I sedated you, you were asleep for a few days, so your wounds should be much better by now." Sam picked me up and gently sat me on my feet, still supporting most of my weight. "Where to?"

"Outside! Can we go find Jamie? I wanna thank him for helping me." I looked up at him. I was excited to see him. I realized that I missed him. "Of course, I probably wouldn't be in as good a shape as I am today without your help, Sam." I smiled at him.

"No problem, Luce. You know it's part of my job as a son of Apollo. Being friends with you doesn't hurt as an incentive either." He smiled at me and opened the door. I tried hard to stand on my own but I was still wobbly so Sam held onto my elbow to steady me. It wasn't too hard to find Jamie. I almost wish that we hadn't.

We found Jamie making out with some Ares cabin girl on the beach. I just looked away before Sam saw them and told him I didn't see Jamie anywhere. I just swallowed my hurt and buried it temporarily. It felt like a hard lump of cotton stuck in my throat. It was hard to breath around it and would be even harder to speak around. I sniffed and held onto Sam just a bit tighter. "C'mon. Let's go find Jay or Mitchell… I need to talk to one of them… Afterwards they can help me back to the cabin so you can do what you need to." I said tersely, just wanting to get away from him and pour my heart out to someone. "Maybe we can find Alex… whoever comes first is alright with me."

"Alright… You sure you're okay?" He asked, pushing some stray hair from my face. I was thankful I'd been strong enough to take a shower last night with some help. Whoever had helped me had managed to carry me back out of the bathroom since I'd passed out after the strain on my back from dressing myself.

"Mhmm…" I murmured, hiding the whimper in my voice. I was in luck this time. We managed to find all three of them lounging around the dining pavilion and all three got up to take me from Sam and help set me down.

"Are you okay?"

"How's the back?"

"You need to rest more." All had said in unison. Sam had just left us and they all clamored for my attention. I held up a hand until Sam had disappeared. When he did, I slowly turned back to them, sighed, and promptly burst into tears. They all seemed horrified for a split second and then were at my side with words of comfort.

"Does it hurt that bad, Lucy?" Jay asked, pulling my head into his lap as Alex started to set the rest of me in his and Mitchell sat on his haunches in front of me and rubbed my arms.

I managed to splutter something unintelligible and they all moved closer to hear. I tried again, clearing my throat before attempting it again. "I don't care about it… I hurt on the inside…" They all looked at me with funny expressions on their faces and waited for me to elaborate. "I caught… I… I caught Jamie… KISSING A DAUGHTER OF ARES!" I sobbed, dragging out Ares' name, and pushed my face into Alex's chest. I heard his strangled snarl of outrage and I felt the muscles in his legs tremble and clench as he fought to stay seated. Jay and Mitchell both stood up and I could hear their knuckles pop as they clenched their fists.

"But wait… You two weren't dating were you?" Mitchell asked, his intelligence surfacing quickly through his anger.

"Y-no… But I thought he liked me… We would've if I hadn't gotten hurt… He'd been flirting with me and was staying with me while I was hurt… I even liked him too…" I sobbed again, miserably. Only Alex still appeared angry, though the others had a certain tightening in their muscles that betrayed their anger.

"Just wait 'til I… Once I find my bat… rip a new one…" Alex murmured under his breath, so I could only catch bits and pieces.

Mitchell saw that Alex would be of no use to me until he calmed down so he picked me up. He cradled me against him and sat down next to Alex. "Shhhh… It's alright Lucy… He's a jackass." Mitchell smiled down at me, wiped away my tears, and let me cry myself into calmness in his arms. "Let's get you home okay. This had to be bad on you, Lucy… You weren't even all the way over being sick before the Minotaur and now this… Poor thing…" He whispered to me as he carried me back to my cabin with Jay and Alex in tow. Alex seemed determined to beat up Jamie until I felt better.

I whimpered into Mitchell's shirt until we got into the cabin and he sat down on my bed with me. Jay sat by my head and murmured calming words, trying as best as he could. Slowly I calmed down, thankfully BEFORE reaching the retching point.

It seemed Alex finally had calmed down because he pulled me away from Mitchell and hugged me tightly and told me he'd try to make sure I didn't hurt like that again. I hugged him back and realized that I was still shuddering, my breathing hitching in my chest. He patted my back and set me down on my bed, covering me up.

"Please stay guys… I don't wanna wake up without you guys here…" Jay and Mitchell exchanged glances and nodded at me. For once Alex didn't protest, simply picked me up and told the boys to make a large pallet in the floor for us all. He took me to the bathroom so I could bathe and change in peace then waited outside in case I needed help. As soon as I was showered and dressed again I called him in to help me to the pallet.

Jay and Mitchell were both gone to shower, change, and tell their cabin-mates where they were going to be. They were back before I fell asleep. Once we got on the pallet, Jay pulled me close to him while Mitchell laid down on my other side. Alex laid down across the top of the pallet. Esme was having a sleepover with Clarissa in her cabin, so we were alone and the silence filled the room. I felt happy and safe with them here. Just before I fell asleep, my swollen lids drooping, there was a knock on the door. No one moved so I slid out from under Jay and answered it.

Standing behind the door was a tall, pretty girl with board-straight, blonde hair and cool green eyes. She had on a green hoodie with a white under-shirt, faded and cut up jeans, and orange converses. She smiled shyly at me and introduced herself with a small wave.

"Hi… My name's Krista Crawford and I'm your new cabin-mate… Chiron said to just come on and move in… Sorry it's so late… I had a long trip." She said, her eyes crinkling at the corners with sincerity. I yawned so largely that my jaw cracked.

"It's okay. I wasn't asleep yet." I motioned for her to come in and she smiled at the pile of guys on the pallet. She seemed really kind. "Our sister, Esme's sleeping over at a friend's house, but our brother, Alex is here, plus some of my friends. We're camped on the floor tonight, and if you want you can sleep with us or on one of the bunks." I said smiling. "By the way, my name's Lucinda, but you can call me Luce if you want. Welcome to the family!" She smiled at me and nodded. I hoped I'd at least sounded cheerful and hugged her.

I helped her get moved in and she climbed into Esme's bunk. I smiled and waved at her before crawling back under Jay's arm and leg. Mitchell had scooted closer in his sleep and I was now face to face with him. He murmured something in his sleep and his brow crinkled then relaxed. I sighed and turned towards him, Jay still shielding me with his arm and leg. It was too easy to fall asleep then. I was warm and surrounded by people who wanted nothing more than to make me feel comfortable and loved.

I woke up before the others and got dressed in the warm darkness. I brushed my teeth and my hair and as I did, I looked around and noticed the changes. The bunk beds were gone, replaced by free hanging beds and the cabin seemed twice as large. I noticed there were now two large bathrooms and more luxury items, like another mini-fridge and two new wardrobes. There was another eagle and perch too. Everything seemed to be rearranged perfectly to allow for more space and more people. The free hanging beds could be raised up and lowered down by ropes next to them and there were four of them, each perfectly made and fluffy. The mattresses we'd made the pallet out of were now just extras that could be stored away. I grinned and carefully dive bombed all the sleeping boys, being sure not to hurt my back in the process.

"AUGH!" they all yelled at the top of their lungs, simultaneously trying to sit up with me on top of them. Mitchell had received most of my upper body while Jay got my legs and Alex got hit across the stomach with my left arm.

"Good morning guys!" I said, smiling and laughing. Mitchell grinned and started tickling me around my ribs. "AH!" I screamed and rolled trying to get away, but he slid out from under me and tickled me harder. "ST-STOP!" I screamed, my face going red, tears streaming, and started to twitch.

"MITCHELL! Dude. Chill. She said stop. Don't make me get my baseball bat." came Alex's sleepy, yet commanding voice. A large hand had been laid on Mitchell's bicep and rested there, non-threatening as of yet. But Mitchell backed off and I finally regained my breath.

"Th-Thanks Niichan." I said, wiping my tears away and smiling over at my older brother.

"No problem, Imotochan." He said, ruffling my hair. I smiled at him and he smiled back. I lunged at him as carefully as I could and hugged him around his waist, making him laugh.

"Oh!" I said, sitting up straight. I looked up towards the beds way up in the ceiling, trying to find the small blonde head I knew would be there. "Krista! Come down and say hey to everyone!" I called, smiling up at her.

"How do I get down?" She asked, her ruffled head appearing over the side of her bed.

"Umm… Try pulling the knotted silk cord next to the bed and slowly lower yourself down." I said, smiling. She did and came down slowly until she was just low enough where she could get back up onto the bed if she wanted .

"Hi… My name's Krista Crawford. I'm 14 years old and I'm a daughter of Zeus. I got in late last night and Luce was kind enough to help me get settled in." She said quietly. I smiled at her and hugged her tightly, holding in a hiss of pain when she hugged me back.

"Welcome to the family Krista. I would've said that earlier but it was really late and I was very tired. This," I said, pointing to each in turn, "is Alex, this is Mitchell, and this Jay." Each one waved as they were introduced.

"Yo."

"What's up."

"Hey." All three chorused. I let go of Krista and smiled weakly.

"Guys, I'm still not feeling too great. Do you mind showing Krista around while I take a shower and stuff? And bring me back breakfast if you can." I asked them, rubbing my head as a wave of dizziness swept through me.

"I'll stay home with you. You guys go with Krista." Jay said to them, coming and standing beside me.

"No. Go eat. I can manage for a little while by myself."

"Nope. Besides, we need to talk."

"Oh. Alright then." I said, leaning into him and laying my head in the crook of his neck, willing my sudden headache away.

* * *

_A/N: Okay so... I broke up with Dylan in November... Heh... Sorry... about the story... I just found myself rather blocked after he and I broke up and he didn't cheat on me, but in the story he does. I just want to make that distinction so, ya know... Friends of mine (and you know who you are) don't go chase after him with a pitch fork... He's a good guy... seriously. We just didn't work. Anyways, sorry for the ENORMOUS delay in the story... I can't apologize enough!_

_Love and Rockets,_

_Savvy  
AKA Maiden of the Silver Fires_


	11. Chapter 11: Fist Fights and Handguns

**I'm a WHAT!**

* * *

_**Chapter 11**_

_A/N: Okay, I don't own Percy, Grover, Thalia, or Annabeth. I don't even own the places! In fact, the only things I own are the characters below… And possibly the plot line. Depressing, isn't it?_

* * *

**Character Parallels**

**(This is mainly for the people who were the basis of my characters)**

Mitchell Collebri: Ross  
Damien Kingsley: Matty  
Zoey Reed: Allie  
Jay Jones: Zack  
Sam Rockwell: Scotty  
Lucinda "Luce" Sullivan: Me  
Audrey Henson: Regan  
Clarissa Michaels: Caree Jo  
Christopher "Tofur" Williams: Chris  
Esme James: Nicole  
Alexander "Alex" Price: Jordan  
Jamie Corbel: Dylan  
Krista Crawford: Lauren

* * *

Once everyone had left I sighed and thumped down onto the pallet, wincing as the impact jarred my injuries. I looked up at Jay and patted the space beside me but he shook his head and leaned against the wall looking at me in my purple pjs and grey tank top. I sprawled out in front of him, laying on my stomach as I watched him pace, gathering his thoughts.

Finally he faced me as he bent down on one knee, his hazel eyes boring into my blue ones. "Why did you bother wasting your time on that idiot?"

"Pardon?" I asked incredulously, surprised that he would bring my love life into things.

"You heard me. Why?" His face was just inches from my own and I felt myself getting angry.

"Well what business is it of yours who I waste my time on?" I said, my voice deceptively calm. Jay sat back on his haunches and growled.

"It's my damned business because I actually care about you. We've been friends for years and you're closer than a sibling to me! I hate to see you beat yourself up over some douche who hasn't known you 10 minutes and then sticks his tongue down some cheap bitch's throat while you're hurt! Don't be so fucking thick-headed Luce! He probably thought you'd be a cheap lay and when you got yourself hurt PROTECTING him, the little prick decided he couldn't take someone like you and hunted a more gullible girl down." His even, baritone voice had risen to almost ear-shattering volume and then softened to almost a whisper at the end. "You've got to stop tearing yourself to shreds over him. I know how upset you were last night and lets face it honey, as much as I would love to, I'm not going to be here for you to cry to forever. You've got to get up again, stand on your own two feet and not depend on me and Mitchell for comfort because we won't always be there. What about college? What are you going to do when you go to MSU and I go to NYFC? Are you gonna drive the however-many hours to come cry on my shoulder?" He now held my face in his always-warm palms and looked at me.

"Maybe… But only if it was like… horrible…" I said, not looking him in his eyes. He started laughing softly and pulled me close.

"You're crazy, you know that?" He said quietly, rubbing my back as I started tearing up.

"Only because putting up with you has made me that way." I laughed back. We sat up and he wiped my eyes for me like he always did and grinned his lopsided grin at me. I sniffled and smiled at him. Jay stood and helped me stand as well. I hugged him again and we stood there for a bit.

"C'mon. Let's go do something. It'll make you feel better."

"Okay." I changed clothes quickly and asked Jay to rebind my wounds for me so I could feel a bit better. He did and soon we were out the door to do 'something'. I decided we'd start working on getting my strength back up by practicing sparring.

We started off with light swords and worked our way up to sparring with axes and staffs. By the end of the sparring match, my newly closed wounds were screaming and my arms and back ached slightly, but I was barely winded and I stood proud over a defeated Jay. We had also exhausted every type of weapon but bows in the camp's arsenal. "Please tell me you didn't go easy on me, Jay."

"Not a bit. You're strong." He said as I helped him up.

"Good." I smiled at him and he came and laid a hand on my shoulder.

"There was something else I wanted to tell you. It's just going to be me, you, and Alex on the quest. Four is just too many people to go on that kind of recon and recovery mission. Besides, you and Alex have your powers of the air, lightning, and storm, and I can do a few minor things. We don't need another person to come along, but Chiron wants you guys to bring your eagles with you for additional protection."

"How do we take EAGLES with us inconspicuously?"

"Chiron has these." Jay said, handing me a solid, white-gold ring with an eagle perched in an oak tree embossed on it. "These rings are basically like a magical storage unit that can house anything. You press down on the image and it opens up." I watched as Jay pushed the tiny lid and it opened spirally, revealing a midnight sky-like portal. "Just get Arashi and put her into it. She won't be afraid, I promise." He said and handed me my ring. I slipped it on my finger and nodded. I'd put it on a necklace later, when I had time.

"Alright. When do we leave?" I asked, leaning on Kagamino Hikari lazily.

"Tonight. The training was not just for your benefit. It was to make sure you were finally strong enough for travel." I nodded at him, expecting nothing less.

"I know you said just three can go, but what about Sam? We might need his healing abilities." I asked, but Jay shook his head.

"He has work to do here. Besides, nectar and ambrosia does wonders and we all have a basic knowledge of first aid." Jay said. I nodded again.

"What should I pack?"

"Standard stuff. TP, Nectar, Ambrosia, that salve, a spare set of clothes, etc. Make sure you put the bulk of it in your ring. Then you can put your toothpaste and other replaceable items in your bag." He ran a hand through his hair and a ring similar to mine flashed on his finger.

"Okay. Any special items I need to bring?"

"No. Just make sure that you bring your sword and things like that." He said. I nodded again and hugged him before leaving him to get to work. I felt strong and in control of things again. I felt like I was back at top form, though I knew I still had a small bit of recuperation to go through.

On the way back to my cabin to pack, Jamie ran up to me. "Hey! I hear you're doing better. I'm so glad!" He said, trying to hug me to him. The anger I didn't know I felt boiled up inside me and I punched him in the mouth before he could touch me.

"You sonofabitch don't you EVEN try to fucking lay a hand on me!" I screamed at him as thunder suddenly clapped from above. Suddenly Jay was there and he was holding me back by the collar of my shirt.

"What the fuck is HER problem!" Jamie shouted at no one in particular as he rubbed his mouth.

"She saw you kissing that slutty bitch." Jay said, his voice flat.

"SHIT! You found out about me kissing that Nemesis girl?" He asked, panic in his eyes. That made me even more angry.

"NEMESIS! JAY WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT ARES GIRL! JUST HOW MANY GIRLS DO YOU HAVE!" I screamed at him, writhing like an angry swarm of bees to get out of Jay's arms as thunder rolled and lightning flashed in the formerly clear sky. A bolt nearly hit Jamie and I laughed menacingly. I had total control of this storm and I knew that nothing would harm him… Just get really close…

"HOLY FUCK!" Jamie yelped and ran away. The storm followed him. I didn't think I had anything to worry about. Jamie was scared of me and I'd heard and felt some of his teeth break and pop out upon impact. Looking at my hands, I noticed chips of his teeth shallowly embedded in my knuckles. Seeing them made me smile.

"What do you think you were doing?" Jay asked, his voice more exasperated than angry.

"Baking cookies. Why? What did YOU think I was doing?" I smiled at him, ignoring the stinging pain in my knuckles. It was nothing compared to what I'd been through in the past few days.

Jay laughed and his death grip around my midsection turned into a happy hug. "You shouldn't be scaring him though. It's a waste of your powers. Besides, did you have control over the storm?"

"Of course. How else could I have gotten so close to him without hitting him? You know I have excellent aim." I said laughing and pulling away from him.

"Where're you going?"

"I'm going to ask Mitchell if he has something ready for me… I asked him to do a project for me before I got hurt and I figured it might be a good time to check on it."

"Fine. Afterwards get Sam to check out your hand okay?"

"Roger Dodger." I said, saluting him as I walked away. He laughed and I knew he was shaking his head at my lame phrase but whatever. It didn't take long to get to the Hephaestus kids' workshop/cabin.

"Mitchell, you in here?" I asked as I walked through the door.

"Yo." He said, his head popping up from beside a work table. He had smears of grease on his cheeks and forehead but looked happy. I smiled as I walked over and wiped the grime from his face with my thumbs.

"You got that thing I asked you to work on done?" I asked, putting my hands into my jean pockets.

"You betcha. It's gorgeous. But then again, you should be the one to appraise my work." He said, smiling as he brought out the steel with silver and bronze inlay Berretta. I whistled in appreciation as I removed the bullets so I could safely look into the barrel. It was amazing. It had a perfect, bronze cyclone inside the barrel that I just knew would put a perfect rotation into a shot.

"Gods Mitchell… That's not just gorgeous… That's down right sexy…." I said, my voice reverent and the country twang reverberating in my ears. Mitchell laughed.

"Thanks! I tried to get the alterations just right. I already have 10 boxes of ammo ready for you if you wanna go on and take it."

"Alright." I smiled at him but stopped mid-step. "You're sure this will take down the monsters?"

"One hundred percent. So long as it's celestial bronze you should have no problems and while the gun isn't totally bronze, the bullets are so it should still take a monster down." Mitchell said. I relaxed and let out my breath.

"Good. You got a holster for this thing or is there a transformer on it like my sword?"

"Transformer. It's the button near the barrel." Mitchell said smiling at me as he handed me 5 of the boxes, carrying the other 5 himself. I smirked and pressed the button after a bit of finagling with the arrangement of the boxes I carried. The compact handgun transformed into a bracelet which I quickly slipped over my wrist.

"Good. It's inconspicuous. Well done Mitchell." I smiled at him. He carried the other five boxes with me to my cabin and set them just inside the door. I thanked him and started getting ready before he left.

"Whatcha doin?" He asked, smiling as he leaned against a wall.

"Packing in case they decide to change the date of the quest. I'm still not 100% so Chiron's letting us just wait a little while so I can get back up to fighting shape." I said, the lie coming to my lips easily. I hated lying to Mitchell. He was a good friend and I'd feel bad later, but it was for his own good. He'd only be upset and cause issues if he knew.

"That's a good plan. You feeling better?"

"Yeah. Hey, I'm gonna have to start packing some of my more personal things soon, if you catch my drift, so do you mind leaving?" I asked, blushing.

"Oh… No, I'm glad you warned me actually haha. See ya later Lucy."

"Don't call me LUCY!" I growled and angrily started throwing things into piles then slowly started putting things into my ring. I smiled and shook my head to rid my eyes of their fogginess as I slid the picture of me and my family into my ring. I never realized how much I missed them. I'd have to remember to Iris Message my mom before we left. The last time we'd spoken wasn't long after I'd moved into the Zeus cabin, which was over a month ago. I sighed and closed my eyes, exposing my neck to the ceiling. I finished packing the essentials and grabbed a light bag and put a few things in it.

I lowered down a bed for myself and took a nap.

* * *

_A/N: Okay lol so things have gotten interesting and sadly Luce is having to lie and is getting into fights. This shall be interesting, I promise. Anyway, I hope to be finished with the next chapter soon so wish me luck and cross your fingers. Things have been going really well and have been calming down so it shouldn't be too hard to get it done quickly! Thanks to everyone who helped inspire and support me, especially my friends and readers!_

_Love and Rockets,_

_Savvy  
Aka Maiden of the Silver Fires  
_


	12. Chapter 12: She's gone to Elysium

**I'm a WHAT!**

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_**Chapter 12**_

_A/N: Okay, I don't own Percy, Grover, Thalia, or Annabeth. I don't even own the places! In fact, the only things I own are the characters below… And possibly the plot line. Depressing, isn't it?_

* * *

**Character Parallels**

**(This is mainly for the people who were the basis of my characters)**

Mitchell Collebri: Ross  
Damien Kingsley: Matty  
Zoey Reed: Allie  
Jay Jones: Zack  
Sam Rockwell: Zach (Scotty)  
Lucinda "Luce" Sullivan: Me  
Audrey Henson: Regan  
Clarissa Michaels: Caree Jo  
Christopher "Tofur" Williams: Chris  
Esme James: Nicole  
Alexander "Alex" Price: Jordan  
Jamie Corbel: Dylan  
Krista Crawford: Lauren  
Marie Marin: Errie

* * *

I woke up maybe half an hour later with my knuckles stinging. I rolled off of my bed and brushed my hair, absently rubbing my knuckles. I decided that I should go see Sam and get him to check my hand out like Jay had suggested. He wasn't surprised to see me but I was surprised when he gave me a hug when I told him what had happened.

"Why didn't you tell me when it happened?"

"I'm sorry… I just don't like to bother you with those kinds of things…"

"It doesn't bother me. We're friends, Luce. You should be able to come to me with your problems." He smiled and took my hands in his own to examine them carefully. He whistled low in appreciation when he saw the tiny bits of Jamie's teeth that managed to stay lodged in my skin. "You punched the shit out of him, girl." He grinned at me and I grinned back.

"He deserved it, the scuzzball." Sam nodded at me as he began to gently work out the debris from my brief fight and clean the tiny scrapes.

"That he did. So, you're leaving tonight, right." He said it as a statement, not a question. He paused in his work to look up at me, his golden-brown eyes serious, if not slightly worried.

"How did you know?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

"Jay came in earlier for supplies and since he knew I wasn't going to be upset, he told me. He said you wanted me to come with you so that I could help out if one of you guys got hurt." He said, going back to fixing up my hand, smiling slightly.

"Well yeah." I smiled at him. "You're all but my doctor, Sam. I'd never want anyone BUT you to have to patch my sorry ass up." He laughed and smiled wider.

"You get the handgun from Mitchell yet?"

"Right here." I said, smiling and twitching the hand he was working on. He looked at the bracelet on my wrist and pressed down on the oak tree design. Thankfully he caught the compact handgun as it fell from overtop my wrist.

"Unarmed?"

"Would I be stupid enough to carry around a loaded gun when I'm still showing it off?"

"Well look at what you've done today already." He smiled at me and gently tapped my knuckles. I raised an eyebrow at him and shook my head.

"Touché. But no, it isn't even loaded." I said, smiling at him. He nodded and gently let go of my hand to examine the gun. He whistled in appreciation of it and I smiled.

"Mitchell outdid himself on this." Sam said, handing it back gingerly. I nodded and pushed the button to turn the gun into a bracelet once more.

I smiled at Sam as he returned to fixing my hand. I propped my head on my other hand and watched him work. He was done quickly and I smiled again. "Feeling better?"

"Much, thanks." I said, pulling my hand from his, but he grabbed mine again.

"Hey, be safe and take care of yourself. I won't be there to patch you up." Sam said, squeezing my hand for emphasis. I smiled at him and pulled him into a hug.

"I'll try, besides, the guys and I know basic first aid and we have plenty nectar and ambrosia. We'll be alright, Sam." He grinned at me.

"I know. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't try anything stupid."

"I didn't promise that." I said, winking at him as I stood and walked away. As I walked through the open door, the echoing sound of his laughter made me smile. I ran back to my cabin and changed from my rumpled clothing into something more presentable for supper.

During supper I pulled Alex aside to discuss the trip. "Are you ready?"

"For what?"

"Ugh… Alex, are you ready to go on the quest tonight? Jay told me today that we're leaving as soon as the camp's asleep for the night. What HAS Jay told you?"

"Admittedly, just what you told me and that I should keep this with me at all times…" Alex said, smiling apologetically. He held out his right hand and showed me the glimmering gold ring with the same design as my white gold one on it.

"Figures." I said, turning to smile at Jay and giving him the universal symbol for 'I'm watching you.' "Anyway, when we get back to the cabin, I should help you pack." Alex nodded absently, his eyes on a pretty girl from Nyx cabin.

"Yo Alex, focus on me right now. Not Kristi." I smiled, fussing at him gently. Kristi was his girlfriend and they were a beautiful match. Unfortunately he needed to focus on me instead of her right now.

"Sorry… I know… I can't help it." He said, smiling at me as he turned back to me. "You wanna go on back to the cabin so we can pack in peace?"

"Well I've already packed but I can help you with your packing. C'mon. Say bye to Kristi so we can leave." I smiled at him and pushed him towards her table. I walked placidly down the gravel path and sang the last few stanzas of Soul to Squeeze by Red Hot Chili Peppers to myself.

"Where I go I just don't know  
I got to got to gotta take it slow.  
When I find my piece of mind  
I'm gonna give you some of my good time.

Where I go I just don't know  
I might end up somewhere in Mexico.  
When I find my piece of mind  
I'm gonna keep you for the end of time."

"Love that song, chick." a pretty Hispanic girl smiled at me from around a column. She was plump with shiny black hair and shocking blue eyes. She had an I-don't-give-a-shit vibe which I instantly loved.

"Me too, haha." I said smiling at her. "My name's Lucinda Sullivan, but you can call me Luce."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Marie Marin." She said smiling. "So whose kid are you?" She didn't beat around the bush.

"Daughter of Zeus. You?"

"Daughter of Aphrodite. Though you wouldn't know it, looking at me." She laughed at my confused expression. "My dad's originally from Mexico and I grew up in Texas. That's why I have black hair and dark skin."

"Oh. I wasn't really thinking about it." I said smiling. She nodded at me and smiled "I have to leave now, but it was definitely nice meeting you."

"You too Luce." She waved at me as I jogged away and smiled. I started running, loving the burning sensation in my legs and the tightening in my chest. I smiled and bent the wind to my will, using it to help propel me along. I was practically off of the ground by the time I reached my cabin. I blew in through the doors and smiled as all the eagles looked up at the same time, their feathers fluffing up like they were preparing for flight. I ran over and patted Arashi on the head. They all calmed down and closed their eyes once the air settled.

I picked her up and opened the portal on my ring. Arashi cocked her head to one side but placidly flew into the opening when I motioned for her to fly. Just then, Jay waltzed in and plopped down on my bed. "Sup, little girl?"

"Don't call me little girl." I said, smiling at him and chucking a pillow at his head. I missed surprisingly badly for someone with marksmanship like my own.

"Alex about ready?" he asked, stretching out like a lazy cat.

"No. Saying goodbye to Kristi. I'll probably start packing for him soon." I said, thumping down on the bed beside him. I laid my head on his shoulder and he slung an arm around me as I closed my eyes, sighing.

"What's wrong, Lucy?" Jay asked, brushing my hair out of my face and resting his chin on my head.

"Nothing… Everything… I don't know. I just… feel… not good…"

"You sure you'll be able to come on the quest?"

"I'm fine… just kinda sleepy and tired."

"You just had a nap earlier, though."

"I know… I think maybe we kinda over did it a little with training earlier. Maybe that's why I feel like this…"

"Maybe. I'll pack for Alex. You get some rest for tonight." Jay said, his brows furrowed together in worry. He kissed my forehead and laid me down on my bed to rest while he pulled out clothes for Alex and began laying out the things meant for Alex to pack. I nodded off at some point and awoke to someone sliding my ring off my finger.

"Move that ring one more inch off of my finger and you'll know what a million volts of pure electricity does to someone's heart." I said, my voice icy cold and my eyes closed.

"I don't imagine a whole lot when said someone has the same power and can thereby deflect it." Alex said, his voice calm and smug. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck happily. "Are you feeling better, now?"

"Yeah. Still a bit sleepy but that'll wear off after some coffee." I said, yawning.

"OH no. You are NOT drinking coffee. You know things like that have a supremely amplified effect on us Half-bloods!" Alex said, frowning.

"Alex, I've had coffee for years and it has never had an extreme effect on me."

"Oh? Is that why your second grade teacher recommended that you be put on Ritalin?" Jay threw in as he sauntered past.

"Ritalin? Just how bad WERE you?" Alex asked incredulously.

"Not bad at all… She just hated me… And I didn't do alot of the work she gave me because it wasn't hard enough…" I growled, launching myself at Jay.

Just then, as I was throttling the smirk off of Jay's mouth, Mitchell knocked on the door. Everyone froze before he stuck his head in the door and walked in followed by Damien. "Yo peoples. What it do?"

"Not much, man. Thanks again for the piece. I love it." I smiled brightly at him as Jay clawed at my arms. I thumped his head once more against the floor and released him to go hug Mitchell.

"Eh, no problem." He smiled at me quickly. After I hugged Mitchell, I lead Damien outside for a word.

"Dai, can you keep Mitchell busy for tonight? We're leaving on the quest and he wanted to come along. Please? If you love me you'll say yes…." I knew that was a bit low but I really needed Mitchell out of our hair.

"Hmmm… Okay. But if he thinks I'm coming on to him, I'm blaming you." Damien was openly gay and knew Mitchell might have stupid moments about it if he was in the wrong mood.

"Deal. I loves you Dai!" I smiled brightly at Damien's stern, but loving expression and his flawless mocha face rearranged itself into a mirror image, showing off his pearly white teeth.

"I love you too, honey." He hugged me and patted my back. "You so owe me, dear. Oh, did you hear? Audrey, Zoey, and someone named Kayla got sent on a quest while you were recovering! They should be back to…" Just then, a dozen campers came thundering past. I managed to stop Tofur as he ran by.

"Tofur, what's going on?"

"Some campers just got back from a quest. I think someone's dead." As Tofur ran back into the crowd, I felt my body freeze. Even though Audrey and Zoey had both become more than a little high and mighty since they got claimed, I still considered them friends.

"Oh honey, c'mon. Let's go see if we can help Sam. I'm sure he's got his hands full." Dai said, pulling me in the opposite direction, towards the Apollo cabin. Sure enough, the cabin was a hive of buzzing activity and Sam desperately needed help.

"Luce, come here. Charge your fingertips a bit and do chest compresses on her, Damien, dude, go get Alex. I don't think any other children of Zeus have mastered the electro-kinesis." He motioned me over to one of the too-still campers lying on a table. It was Zoey. Her face was gray and her eyes were glassy. I knew Tofur's father had taken her away, but if Sam still gave her a chance I would, too.

"How long has she been gone?" I asked, gathering the energy in my hands. All the hair within a five foot radius was standing on end and small crackles could be heard from my fingertips as I started the compressions like my CPR training had taught me. I didn't feel anything beyond the electricity at this point.

"Two minutes. Kayla said they both passed out just before they got back to camp. They were ambushed on the way back. I managed to stabilize their wounds just before they went into cardiac arrest." He was watching me as the zaps I gave to Zoey's heart grew more aggressive.

"She could still come back and be fine then." I gritted my teeth and upped the voltage, causing several overhead lights to flicker violently. Alex had arrived a moment ago and was working on the other camper. "Who's the other one? I'm not really in the right place to remember who's accounted for."

"It's… Um… Luce…" I saw him fidgeting in my peripheral vision.

"Spit it the fuck out, Sam." I snarled at him, a quick breeze blowing back my hair and cooling the sweat on my forehead as I upped the voltage again.

"Luce, it's Audrey." He said it quickly, like he was ripping off a Band-Aid. I froze; my eyes wide as I looked at him full on for the first time since I started working on Zoey. He took a step back. "Luce, your eyes..." He shook his head and gestured to Zoey again. "Luce, up the voltage as high as you can without cooking her." His eyes were starting to get red, like tears were threatening, but his voice didn't waver and no moisture pooled in them. We'd all grown up together and if we just let Zoey slip away without trying anything, it would kill us.

"I can't." I shook my head, tears pooling in my eyes. I wasn't as strong as Sam. "She's going to start smoking soon if I keep it up… I've already burned her… I upped it twice and I couldn't feel any neural electricity respond to anything... She's… gone to Elysium…"

I saw Alex stop over at the next table. Tears ran freely down my cheeks and Alex folded me into his arms as I started to sob. Next thing I know, Damien is there, pulling me from Alex and comforting both me and Sam, crying with me as Sam made low, painful noises. Somewhere, in an alert place in my mind, I heard the other Apollo campers call TOD on both of my friends…

* * *

_Hey guys! So, I know it has been forever and a month since I last updated, but I'm gonna try and do better! (I say that after every hiatus and they still happen_ :/)_ I'm gonna start my senior year in highschool here in the next two months and if things work out, I should have alot more free time since I only need two credits to graduate and I might be taking college classes the rest of the day. Hopefully I can work on my other main story more too. I've had kindof a rough time, deaths and fights and boyfriends and break ups etc, and all my stories got put on the backburner for a while. I'm so sorry for the terrible delays. I promise I love you guys! With my new inspiration and sudden dislodging of my writer's block, the story should be jumping in no time. I may even put some others I was working on to help with my emotions during my tough times on here, though if I do, I shall miss the kitty face (:3) that comes up next to my name on the author search dearly. Anyways, I give you all permission to pm my pants off if I'm running behind on stuff! You guys know the drill, read and review! _

_Love and Rockets,_

_Maiden of the Silver Fires  
AKA Savvy_


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